Google, U.S. Set For Court Face-Off Over Search Data
Justice Department lawyers will press their case against Google Inc. today by arguing in federal court that consumer privacy won't be violated by the release of millions of company search records.
The attorneys have alleged in court papers that none of the search queries and Web addresses they seek will be used to identify users of Google's Internet-search service. Today, they will have their first opportunity to address Judge James Ware directly in federal district court in San Jose, Calif. The hearing has been delayed twice, and a decision isn't expected today.
The case has drawn attention throughout the U.S. because it may indicate how readily courts will permit the release of online-search data for surveillance requests or investigations. In their lawsuit filed in January against Google, Justice Department lawyers asked the company to turn over millions of users' search requests and one million randomly selected Web site addresses within 21 days of a court decision.
The government had initially sought the information in an August subpoena and has received similar data from Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit, all of which complied voluntarily.
Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., is fighting the subpoena on the grounds it will violate users' privacy and damage the trust it has built up with consumers. It also argues the records could expose trade secrets on how its search service works.
Joining the suit on Google's behalf is the American Civil Liberties Union.
The government hopes to use the Google data to defend its Child Online Protection Act, a law designed to shield minors from sexually explicit material on the Internet. The Supreme Court has blocked implementation of the act.
In seeking the Google data, the Bush administration intends to defend the act in federal court in Pennsylvania against the ACLU's claim it violates the Constitution's First Amendment right to free speech. The government argues the Google information will help it determine whether filtering software can satisfactorily keep minors from offensive material online or whether the stronger measures of the act are needed.
In legal papers, the Justice Department said it might be willing to accept a smaller random sample of Web site addresses to ease worries that Google trade secrets might be revealed.
Google与美国司法部即将对簿公堂
美国司法部(Department of Justice)律师将于今天和Google Inc.在联邦法庭上对簿公堂，政府律师的观点是：提交数百万的搜索纪录不会侵犯用户隐私。
司法部律师在法律文件中称，他们不会利用这些搜索纪录和网址查找Google搜索服务的用户。今天，他们将首次直接面对加州圣何塞联邦地区法院法官詹姆士?韦尔(James Ware)。这次聆讯已两次推迟，今天可能也不会得出最终结论。
本案受到了美国国内的广泛关注，因为这可以反映出法庭在多大程度上允许向监管或调查机构提供网络搜索数据。在司法部律师1月份提交给法庭的诉讼文件中，他们要求Google公司在法庭判决后21天内提交成数百万用户的搜索纪录以及一百万个随机网址。
美国政府最初在去年8月发出传票要求Google提交信息，雅虎公司(Yahoo Inc.)、微软(Microsoft Corp.)和时代华纳公司(Time Warner Inc.)旗下AOL也收到了传票，并自愿提交了数据。
Google拒绝合作，理由是这将侵犯用户隐私，损害Google和用户建立的信任，而且还可能泄露Google搜索服务的商业机密。
美国公民自由联盟(American Civil Liberties Union)也加入了Google的诉讼阵营。
美国政府希望得到Google的数据以捍卫旨在防止儿童接触互联网色情内容的《儿童网络保护法》(Child Online Protection Act)。但该法案遭到了美国最高法院(Supreme Court)的否决。
布什政府希望借助Google的数据在宾夕法尼亚州联邦法院捍卫《儿童网络保护法》，驳斥美国公民自由联盟的立场，该组织认为这个法案违反了宪法第一修正案(First Amendment)有关言论自由的规定。美国政府辩称Google的信息有助于他们决定过滤软件能否有效阻止儿童接触不良的网络材料以及是否需要采取更加严格的措施。
司法部在法律文件中表示愿意接受较少的随机网址样本，以此减轻Google对泄露商业秘密的担心。
