San Jose, CA: A class action lawsuit filed yesterday challenges Google's alleged practice of illegally sharing the search queries of its users with third-parties. Not only does Google, whose company motto is "Don't be evil," promise in its privacy policy not to do this, but Google has publicly denounced this very practice in the past.
In 2006, Google successfully fought a subpoena filed by the Department of Justice that sought to compel the release of search queries. Google argued: "[S]earch query content can disclose identities and personally identifiable information . . ." It further stated that it "will keep private whatever information users communicate absent a compelling reason."
The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in San Jose, Calif., is brought by Paloma Gaos of the San Francisco Bay Area. The class action seeks monetary relief for those whose search queries were wrongly shared, and injunctive relief to prevent continued privacy abuses.
