Monday, February 23, 2015

Is Google Worth It?



Like many others, I find myself constantly depending on Google to answer my questions and provide me with (mostly) free services that make my life easier. Google is my browser homepage and it’s my first choice when it comes to search engines. My primary email is through Gmail and I’m a big fan of Google Drive. The calendar keeps all my events in order and I would always be lost without easy access to Google Maps. Additionally, I frequently use YouTube for Adobe Creative Suite program tutorials and my daily dose of cat videos. It’s exciting to have access to all of Google’s amazing products, even ones that I do not use regularly, but I often forget that my data is being collected and stored 24/7. 


What does that mean for my privacy? Should I be concerned?


According to Google’s privacy policy, the company collects information to provide better services to all of its users – from figuring out basic stuff like which language you speak, to more complex things like which ads you’ll find most useful or the people who matter most to you online. Google collects information in two ways (n.d.):


1.   Information you give them.  For example, in order to use the majority of Google’s products you are required to sign up for a Google account, which requests information such as your name, address, telephone number, etc. (Google, n.d.).


2.    Information Google gets from your use of their services.  Google may collect information about the services that you use and how you use them, like when you visit a website that uses their advertising services or you view and interact with their ads and content. This can include specific phone model, log information, location information, unique application numbers, local storage, and cookies and anonymous identifiers (Google, n.d.).


This doesn’t sound too bad, right? Well, even though it seems like Google has good intentions; the company has found itself in quite a few predicaments over the years when dealing with privacy.


According to Steven Rosenfeld of Alternet and Salon, there are four methods through which Google is destroying privacy and collecting users data (Rosenfeld, 2014):

  • Street View: not just street mapping - After being sued by 38 states, Google admitted that its mapping cars were taking more than pictures. The company was collecting data from computers inside homes and structures, including passwords, e-mails and other personal information. (Rosenfeld, 2014). In agreeing to settle the case, Google paid a $7 million fine and is required to police its own employees on privacy issues and openly tell the public how to fend off privacy violations like this one. Niki Fenwick, a Google spokeswoman, said that “we work hard to get privacy right at Google, but in this case we didn’t, which is why we quickly tightened up our systems to address the issue,” (Streitfeld, 2013). Many applauded Google’s actions, but some didn’t think it would be enough to really change the company’s unethical ways. Consumer Watchdog, another privacy monitor and frequent Google critic, said that “asking Google to educate consumers about privacy is like asking the fox to teach the chickens how to ensure the security of their coop,” (Streitfeld, 2013).

  • Gmail: prying and spying – In 2013, a potential class-action lawsuit was filed against Google by Gmail users who objected to its practice of analyzing the content of email messages to create detailed profiles and sell the data to advertisers because they felt it violated federal wiretap laws. When the case began, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh rejected Google's effort to dismiss the lawsuits on the ground that users implicitly consented to its activity, recognizing it as part of the email delivery process. However, in March 2014, Koh decided that Google would not face a class-action lawsuit because there are a wide variety of sources from which Gmail users could have learned of Google’s interceptions and realized that they were consenting by using the service. Matt Kallman, a Google spokesman, said, "We're glad the court agreed that we have been upfront about Gmail's automated processing" (Stempel, 2014).

  • Google Safari: not just hunting WiFi - The Wall Street Journal broke the story that Google’s software was bypassing security settings for Apple devices using the Safari browser, exposing millions of users to tracking without them even knowing about it. Google claimed that its actions were unintentional and were brought on by a change in Safari that it was unaware of. When the issue was called to the company’s attention, Google said it stopped tracking Safari users and showing them personalized ads. The result for this “accident” was a $22.5 million fine from the Federal Trade Commission. (Miller, 2012). “The fine is the largest civil penalty ever levied by the commission, which has been cracking down on tech companies for privacy violations and is also investigating Google for antitrust violations,” (Miller, 2012).

  • Android: another data gateway – ComputerWorld.com’s Michael Horowitz claimed that Google knows nearly every WiFi password in the world as a result of backdoor access to hundreds of millions of Android phones and devices. “Sounds great. Backing up your data/settings makes moving to a new Android device much easier,” Horowitz wrote, citing how the company sold this feature to consumers. “It lets Google configure your new Android device very much like your old one. What is not said, is that Google can read the WiFi passwords,” (Rosenfeld, 2014). This feature can easily be turned off, but Google can still be compelled by agencies of the U.S. government to silently provide access to that information. ComputerWorld called out a few other companies for essentially doing the same thing, such as Dropbox and Skype, but focused on Google because of its business is based on analyzing user’s data and selling its insights to advertisers (Rosenfeld, 2014).

Even with all of the negative attention, Google claims their goal is to be clear about what information they are collecting, so that users can make choices about what they use and do not sure. (n.d.).  Google list the five following ways you can take control of your information:

  • Review and control certain types of information tied to your Google Account by using Google Dashboard.
  • View and edit your preferences about the ads shown to you on Google and across the web, such as which categories might interest you, using Ads Settings.  You can also opt out of certain Google advertising services here.
  • Use Google’s editor to see and adjust how your Google Profile appears to particular individuals.
  • Control who you share information with.
  • Take information out of many of Google’s services.
  • Choose whether your Profile name and Profile photo appear in shared endorsements that appear in ads.

So, there are ways for users to at least attempt to protect their privacy. However, many are still not happy about Google collecting their data to create more personalized ads. Last year, consumer feedback service, Servata asked over 2500 Internet users how they felt about the National Security Agency (NSA) collecting user data, and then about Google.  According to the survey, “Internet users are more afraid of their personal data being used by Google than the NSA” (Smith, 2014). In the survey, “Google” scored an average of 7.39 points (with 10 being the score for ‘most upset’) followed by the “NSA” (7.06 points), “your boss” (6.86 points), “your parents” (5.93) and “your spouse or significant other” (4.55 points) (Smith, 2014). While the margin between the top two entities isn’t that large, it does exist. 




I think the problem is that people have to be proactive about researching and understanding how to protect their information. Google clearly provides a way to limit its access to users’ information, but doesn’t put much effort in to making anyone actually read the privacy policy. Additionally, I think its important for users to understand that the services provided by Google really aren’t free no matter how they look at it – they all pay with their data if they choose to use the service. As a consumer, I prefer to receive online ads, emails, direct mail, etc. targeted to me because a new product or brand could be introduced that I might actually enjoy. As long as Google doesn’t provide sensitive personal information, like credit card numbers or my social security number, to advertisers or anyone else, my concern over privacy will stay relatively low because I enjoy Google’s services too much to quit




However, I do think Google should stop hiding behind creating “better services” as its reason to collect data and tell the truth – it just wants to make money on advertising. Google’s business model is “exquisitely simple and sublimely deceptive: We give you free services that you are likely to use dozens of times a day while we invisibly track and record everything you do. Based on what we have learned about you, we then charge advertisers premium fees to reach exactly the right buyers for their products and services,” (Epstein, 2014). To most users, Google appears to be an information provider and an endless array of free services, but it could really just be considered a glorified advertising firm, with 97% of its revenue coming from advertisers (Epstein, 2014). If users could see past the mask, maybe they would take a little more time in reading the fine print and taking the necessary steps to protect their privacy.







References:

Epstein, R. (2014, May 9). Google’s Snoops: Mining Our Data for Profit and Pleasure. Retrieved from: http://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/googles-snoops-mining-our-data-for-profit-and-pleasure/


Google. (n.d.). Privacy policy – privacy & terms. Retrieved from: http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/


Miller, C. (2012, August 9). F.T.C. Fines Google $22.5 Million for Safari Privacy Violations. Retrieved from: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/09/f-t-c-fines-google-22-5-million-for-safari-privacy-violations/


Rosenfeld, S. (2014, February 5). 4 Ways Google is Destroying Privacy and Collecting Your Data. Retrieved from: http://www.salon.com/2014/02/05/4_ways_google_is_destroying_privacy_and_collecting_your_data_partner/


Smith, C. (2014, October 28). Google vs. NSA: Personal data collection survey. Retrieved November 29, 2014, from http://bgr.com/2014/10/28/google-vs-nsa-personal-data/


Stempel, J. (2014, March 19). Google won't face email privacy class action. Retrieved from: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-google-gmail-lawsuit-idUSBREA2I13G20140319








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