How evil is Google?

Google Plus is not insisting on real, legal names. They are instating the same rule that Facebook has: That it be a name you are known by in real life. Samuel Clemons, were he alive, could go by Mark Twain. 50 Cent is allowed to go by just that. You aren’t allowed to go by anonymousdude887. However, unless you are famous, this is a largely unenforceable rule – my name isn’t Amy Smith, but how would Google know that, and how would they even begin to know that it’s not a fake name I use in real life (perhaps when trying to pick someone up for a one-night stand)? And you definitely don’t have to go by a legal name – I go by a nickname, not my legal name in daily life, and Google’s not trying to take that away from me.

I think we should be concerned, but I don’t know what we should be more concerned than with Facebook or other internet giants. I don’t want to get mad at Google for mining data, but not get mad that all public Tweets are stored forever by the Library of Congress. Or not be concerned at all the info various apps on smartphones get.

Google has shown time and time again, that they are just as amoral as any other company.

Just as evil as apple. Winston Smith loved Big Brother.

@Aethelflaed So I should be able to sign up as Asshat? It won’t let me…who do I complain too?

@Cruiser You could probably do “Azz Hat”. Or “Ahss Hat”. You just have to be a bit creative.

@Aethelflaed Adulterated versions of Asshat just won’t be the same…but if that is what it takes to play the game, I will give that a try!

@Aethelflaed they’ve said this, but in practise, people who have had their names disputed have had to supply copies of their ID to get their accounts un-blocked. I guess there’s one rule for celebrities and another for everyone else.

And, for the record, I’m already concerned about Facebook.

@downtide Source?

If you search Twitter with the hashtag #plusgate you will find many, many first-hand accounts.

@downtide Ok, the unreliability of Twitter aside, let’s say this is true. How does this make Google evil? It’s their site, they can make up the rules, and no one is being forced to use it, nor does anyone need to use it, same as Fluther. Perhaps this isn’t how I would handle things if I were in charge, but I’m not. On top of that, it’s a new service that’s not even a month into Beta. It’s not a far stretch to think that perhaps this isn’t so much a Machiavellian plot to screw users over so much as a vague guideline that hasn’t been hashed out in the upper ranks, so each Google employee has to interpret the guideline for themselves. While one Google employee might require a state-issued ID, another might simply require a link to your Facebook account. Nor is it a far stretch to think that Google might change this as part of the perfecting process that is Beta, as they’ve already begun to do with their gender option (and will hopefully do more). I’d call these policies disagreeable, regrettable, and unwise. But evil? This seems like asking if Fluther is evil because they won’t let you ask homework questions.

I would not give any personal data to an online organization like that who does not have to answer to policies to protect personal data.
If they have no responsibility to report to you when information is lost or a breach has occured, they are not getting my data.

Shy of that, Google is no different than any other organization out there. Its not about honesty if they do not have a standard they are held to. Its about their internal policy and nothing more.

If you don’t like it, don’t use it. You have a choice.

This is a real Evil Web Site

@Aethelflaed Of course they can. That’s why I asked a question, instead of making a statement. I’m not saying Google is evil. I’m asking if YOU think Google is evil. You obviously don’t, and that’s fine.

Google is less evil that Facebook in my opinion but both contain personal information that could be used for evil purposes.

Just like with all social networks… only give out information you don’t mind being known or used. As immoral as it may be, this is how these things work these days and we have to learn to protect ourselves.

@downtide Ah, see I sorta thought that asking “how” evil instead of “if” they were evil is stating that you think they definitely are at least a bit.

I wouldn’t use the word evil for google..
I use yahoo though.

You’ll find an enlightening look into Google and its practices, priorities, and relationship to users in this book:

The Googlization of Everything: (And Why We Should Worry), by Siva Vaidhyanathan

The author is a cultural historian and media scholar who teaches at the University of Virginia. Here is a quote: “We are not Google’s customers: we are its product.” By this the author means that through its information-gathering practices, Google is extremely good at delivering finely focused targets—us—to advertisers and thus providing them with cost-efficient use of their advertising dollars. Meanwhile the progressive customization of searches gives us narrower and narrower results, reinforcing rather than expanding our view of the world and increasing the “tribalization” of the Web.

The author raises the important question of whether any profit-making entity should be allowed to control our experience of global culture. Its first obligation is to its shareholders, not to us or even to advertisers, and corporate policy is not the best tool for governing the way we experience the Internet. The informal corporate motto, “Don’t be evil,” seems to assure us that it won’t be and can’t be evil; but in fact it’s no guarantee at all.

@sarahhhhh, one point the author makes is that you don’t have to “give out” information to have your data collected. Every time you use any Google-based tool, from search to maps to Gmail to travel booking, information is being gathered and correlated and stored so that you can be targeted by ads. And because Google’s indexing is so far superior to any other search engine’s and Google’s reach is extending into more and more of our online lives, it is getting pretty hard to avoid handing Google the keys to our private lives, to be used as Google sees fit.

Thanks @Jeruba that looks like an interesting book.