Google/Doubleclick Deal: Control Your Own Privacy with Anonymizers
The Google/DoubleClick merger continues to plod along. Obviously privacy is a big issue and there is little consensus on this. Privacy advocates are rightly concerned about the abilities of a combined Google/DoubleClick behemoth tracking our Web activities. Google's answer, or one of them any way, is crumbled cookie according to The Register:
Google has proposed breaking up the information gathered on users of its services in order to better preserve their privacy. The company told the US Senate that it was investigating the measure after consultation with privacy groups. ...One proposal, according to Reuters news agency, was for a 'crumbled cookie', which would be a way of storing personal information separately without identifying it all as coming from one person or machine.
"We have consulted with numerous privacy, consumer and industry groups in developing these ideas and have endeavoured to be responsive to their concerns," he wrote in his submission, according to Reuters.
Google has also argued for a global privacy standard but that is not enough, especially for some in the European Union which has well established privacy rights.
Privacy advocates in the U.S. are joining the chorus of criticism. In PC World's Privacy Groups Criticize Google
Google's call for a global privacy standard does not allay concerns that privacy groups have with Google's proposed US$3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, said Amina Fazlullah, staff attorney with consumer group U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG).Consolidation in the online advertising market could lead to more demand for consumers' private information, Fazlullah said. In addition, Web sites will have few choices for which vendors to deliver their ads, she said. "The resulting Google company will have a lot of control over what we can actually see, read and hear about online," Fazlullah said. "That is definitely problematic for consumers, but also for greater democratic concerns."
How will this end? That's more a question of politics and economics than technology but technology may render it a moot point. This deal may be the biggest boost that anonymizers have ever seen. Tools and services like Anonymizer's Anonymous Surfing and The Cloak would get more attention if this deal goes through.
What do you think, are anonymizes enough?
Email This!
Digg it!
Sphere it!
Del.icio.us
Reddit!
Newsvine
