Google: “no reason not to trust us…”
The co founder of Google, Sergey Brin, said to NPR that he sees no reason not to trust Google with personal data. It would be very comforting to be able to agree, and become part of the warm and fuzzy free spirit that Google presents. When he says Google is not interested in the nitty gritty of your life I long to beleive that it really is that simple. Unfortunately, I think that we forget that Google is driven to profits just like any other business, and unfortunately morality is sorely pressed to compete with money waved under one’s nose.
What I worry about is not that there is some personal reason that Google would want to watch individual people, but that there would be a chance to make money off exploiting or selling someone’s personal information. We cannot be fooled into thinking that because Google says that they should be trusted that means they won’t ever sell personal information.
Really, as Cindy Cohen from the Electronic Frontier Foundation says, we may be able to trust Google now, but will we always be able to trust them in the future? They may keep personal information through changes in the company, and the future Google may not seem so harmless.
Safer digitally? I doubt it.
Finally, Brin makes the assertion that you are more likely to lose control over your personal info through paper records than digitally. That, I must say, is ridiculous. Imagine if you are mailing a form with sensitive information in the mail {“snail mail” for clarity}, and someone is going to steal it. It will take a great deal of effort to open it, then carefully reseal it when you are done. On the other hand, an email is by default not encrypted, and can be read by any suspicious character between you and the receiver with a bit of know how and the right tools. Then there will be no trace. None.
Or, in a more Google oriented example, say some unnamed company has personal data in a database, including mother’s maiden name, or-more likely-a birthdate. It would be far easier for someone to simply buy {or steal} the information from that unnamed company than to go through the effort of looking it up in historical records, birth certificates, etc. I ask you, how is that safer than a paper form? Then, more importantly, is there any reason to trust Google?
Read about the interview: Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin Says Trust Us With Your Personal Information
