Searching Google for the wrong thing at the wrong time could put you on the police's radar

guest · Oct 14, 2020

Searching Google for the wrong thing at the wrong time could put you on the police's radar
Court records show Google is giving data to police based on search keywords
October 13, 2020
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/...rong-time-could-put-you-on-the-polices-radar/

Google has been talking big about user privacy lately, but how far does that actually extend? Newly released court documents show that Google has given authorities broad swaths of information revealing not just an individual's search history, but disclosing everyone who has searched for specific keywords at the wrong time.

While search history is traditionally obtained via a warrant put out on a single likely suspect, a recent court case shows that this isn't the only way to go about digging up dirt. A court filing unsealed last week shows that authorities in Florida sent a request to Google for information on all users who had searched for a specific address close in time to when an arson occurred.

Google cooperated, sending investigators the IP addresses of everyone who had searched for those keywords around the time of the crime.
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This may be a useful method of obtaining evidence, but it could also have far-reaching consequences for privacy. Whereas demands for sensitive information like this are typically narrowly defined to a suspect, keyword warrants demand data on large groups of people associated with searches for specific phrases and terms.
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CNET: Google is giving data to police based on search keywords, court docs show

Google said Thursday that it works to protect the privacy of its users while also supporting law enforcement.

"We require a warrant and push to narrow the scope of these particular demands when overly broad, including by objecting in court when appropriate," Google's director of law enforcement and information security, Richard Salgado, said in a statement.
"These data demands represent less than 1% of total warrants and a small fraction of the overall legal demands for user data that we currently receive."
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Palancar · Oct 22, 2020

Another scream out loud for a good VPN!

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