full-disclosure - talk.google.com

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Date: Fri Aug 26 04:19:07 2005
From: dmargoli+lists at af0.net (Daniel Margolis)
Subject: talk.google.com

On Aug 25, 2005, at 8:57 PM, Technica Forensis wrote:

>> I don't understand the big fuss over google talk.
>>
>>
>
> I think the fuss has to do with the 'Privacy' paragraph in the  
> terms of service:
> "You agree that Google may access or disclose your personal
> information, including the content of your communications" and
> "Personal information collected by Google may be stored and processed
> in the United States or any other country in which Google Inc. or its
> agents maintain facilities"
>

Justin already made a good reply to this, but it's worth noting that  
there was this in the Talk privacy policy:

> The Google Talk software stores the most recent lines of your text  
> chats locally on your computer. Google Talk does not archive the  
> contents of your text or voice communications on Google's servers,  
> and we will not archive such contents on our servers without your  
> express permission and clear notification to all our users. We may  
> relay content for users in some cases. Google employees do not  
> access the content of any instant messages, voice transmissions, or  
> files you send or receive, except as described in this policy.
>

And farther down:

> [...] we may record information about your usage of Google Talk,  
> such as when you use Google Talk, the size of your contact list and  
> the contacts you communicate with, and the frequency and size of  
> data transfers [...]
>

The only place I see the quote you posted ends in "...if Google is  
required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process or  
governmental request." And I gotta tell you, I think AOL, MSN,  
Yahoo!, ICQ, and probably every big Jabber server in existence has  
the same policy. Even if they don't, of course, it doesn't mean  
anything--if the Feds come to their door with a search warrant, they  
can't well say, "Sorry dude. My privacy policy says I won't let you in."

I'm not trying to come off as a Google apologist (heaven forbid!),  
but I really think the tinfoil hat types haven't been paying  
attention. "Oh no! My personal information is on the Internets!"  
Welcome to ten years ago.

Cheers,
Dan