Google has been the topic of several privacy questions in recent media: are they violating our privacy by monitoring everything we search? I don't believe so.
Although there have been cases where Google has been guilty of violating privacy settlements (such as this lawsuit back in 2012), many of the of the ways that Google "invades" the privacy of our searches are actually listed in the user agreement, which we all know that no one actually reads.
Google uses the data from our internet searches in many ways, from using them to tailor ads to try and fit our interests, to collecting the data for companies to give them an idea as to what their consumers want. All of this is outlined in the privacy policy that all users are required to sign before making an account. For people that don't necessarily have an account, but still have their data collected: Using Google as your search engine of choice gives the company implied consent, meaning that the fact that you are using their site assumes that you are agreeing to the companies policies such as search data usage.
In sort, I don't believe that Google is overstepping their bounds by monitoring our searches for the simple fact that we all technically agree to it by either simply using their search engine, or checking off the privacy agreement without actually reading it like we are supposed to. If you still have a problem with how Google uses your data, try an engine such as DuckDuckGo, which is a site that is based on the principle of allowing users to search without having to worry about their data being tracked.
Good post Kat. Yes, we technically agree to all the monitoring Google does of our searches and-- if we use Gmail-- of our emails. And there is no question that collecting all that data on us allows Google to provide us with more relevant search results. But I do think Google is less than transparent when they use information gathered from your clicking on ads on third party sites. It is not clear to users that those ads-- like the ones that pop up when I look at the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times online-- are connected to Google but they are...It seems deceitful.
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