On Google vs. the government: the end of privacy?

As most people, I feel uneasy about the fact that a judge has allowed the government to see some  of Google’s data. However, I am not sure if my uneasiness is based on something that is becoming passé that is outdated, the concept of privacy. Is it still reasonable to expect privacy in a society where technology makes it possible to find almost anything about everything and everybody? I fear that slowly but surely we are entering an era where in the name of openness, security, and even curiosity (which is becoming a virtue), it is going to become impossible to justify keeping some doors closed. Privacy after all originated from the noble idea that individuals have the right to keep some things about themselves hidden from everybody else. Privacy used to come pretty close to a guarantee in Modern society but that was before technology, before tools existed to find out what people wanted to keep hidden or rather to keep out of the public arena. The times are changing and I fear that this ruling by the judge is just one of the first indications that we have that privacy is no longer a sacred right.

Comments

[Alex Lowe]

I tend to agree with you. With the connected nature technology allowing for the consolidation of so much information in the hands of so few privacy issues are a real concern.

Obscurity has always been what has helped keep private things private. It's hard for people to find private information through other people. Computers and Google bots are able to move through this obscure online world, pick up details, organize it, cross reference it, and make it searchable.

Never before has a single entity been able to collect so much data, cross reference it, and attach it to a person.

I feel like I'm ranting now, I actually wrote a post on the Google privacy topic here. I'd love your feedback.

Regards,

-- Alex