August 24, 2006 | In Technology, Politics |
Google is facing the danger of being shut out of the Brazil market, and could be fined up to $61 million for refusing to hand over confidential user data to the Brazilian government.
Federal prosecutors in Sao Paulo claim that the Orkut social networking service, an internet property of Google, is being used to promote criminal activity in the South American country, and the search giant has an obligation to hand user data over to Brazilian officials.
But Google maintains that, since its servers are hosted in the U.S., it has no obligation to heed the words of Brazil’s prosecutors, and that the matter can only be dealt with in an American courtroom. The internet giant already triumphed in a court battle against the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year, getting out of a subpoena that would have seen private user information handed over to government busybodies.
That verdict, which seems to have set a legal precedent for increased privacy, almost guarantees that Google would win a battle against the Brazilian authorities in any U.S. courtroom.
It remains unclear exactly how events will transpire in this transcontinental battle for privacy rights, but Google seems determined not to give up on its principles without a fight. That, at the very least, is a good sign for the freedom-loving internet users of Brazil.
I find it rather impressive Google’s willing to put all this money in to defending user privacy rights, but before everyone starts screaming about how “good” and “pure” Google is, remind yourself that they have very little real choice, with hundreds of sites and media publishings such as GoogleWatch watching their every move so very closely.
I’ve always wondered how many things like this go un-discussed. Does Google defend privacy in all cases, or do they just let it slide if they think they can get away with it without the media finding out.
Hmm.
Comment by Joey — August 31, 2006 #
[…] Earlier this week, the search engine agreed to divulge a “small and narrow” selection of personal user data to the government of Brazil, after being threatened with daily fines and a possible shut-down of its offices in the country. […]
Pingback by Google Caves on Brazillian Privacy Battle » Jeremy Maddock — September 9, 2006 #