US Claims Some Google Searched Keywords

The US government is said to have secretly authorized Google to provide user data about anyone who types in certain search terms. This is more than previously thought of innocent Internet users. serious investigations. raises fears that it might interfere more often.

According to court filings that were accidentally discovered and accessed by Forbes, federal investigators used new “keyword clearances” to track down a victim’s name or address within a given year to track down criminals. information about anyone They started using it to ask Google to give it back.

‘Police can only identify people based on their thoughts’

Google has to respond to thousands of permissions each year, but permission for keywords used in searches is seen as a relatively new and controversial strategy used by the government.

Jennifer Granick, surveillance and cybersecurity consultant for the American Civil Liberties Union, told Forbes. “Browsing Google’s search history database, people of the police at some point in the past, for whatever reason, just based on what they think” summed up in his words.

Granick, in his speech “This previously unfeasible technique threatens the interests of the First Amendment and will inevitably put innocent people under suspicion, especially if the keyword terms are not unique and the time frame is not precise. To make matters worse, the police are currently doing it in secret, which makes the app insulates from public debate and regulation” continued as.

The government said the scope of the permits was limited in order to avoid incriminating innocent people seeking certain terms. But how many users’ data is sent to the government and The scope of the permit requests was not made public.