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LuckyTheDog

(6,837 posts)
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 09:18 AM Jun 2014

This is what free speech looks like to Google

You may think anyone whose own company's search engine autocompletes his name with the phrases “is evil,” “is a douche” and “is creepy” would have some sympathy for lesser mortals who have somehow been damned to internet hell.

But in the case of Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, you'd be wrong.

Last month, the European Union issued a landmark ruling that redefined internet privacy by establishing a “right to be forgotten” enabling European citizens to demand Google and other search engines remove sensitive personal information from the results of searches for their names.

Now a looming battle is shaping up over which requests will be honored, and Schmidt’s company is sticking to its guns in a series of precedent-testing cases in Germany that are highlighting how radically the web is redefining the borders between privacy and freedom of speech.

MORE HERE: http://wonkynewsnerd.com/free-speech-looks-like-google/

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magical thyme

(14,881 posts)
1. personally, as a user I *hate* autocomplete
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 09:24 AM
Jun 2014

It is a royal pain in the ass. It completes things incorrectly, distracts me when I'm typing and pulls up lists before I'm finished typing. And it is CREEPY. A constant reminder that I am being watched. I suppose that reminder is a good thing, but it really turns me off the internet. Which may be another good thing...

House of Roberts

(5,168 posts)
2. Sometimes I pre-complete search terms in a comment box.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 09:32 AM
Jun 2014

Or I use a notepad document. Then when I paste it in, I don't get the autocomplete.

What gets me, is you get the result you're looking for, then, even if you just hit 'space' afterward, it changes the offering.

RKP5637

(67,104 posts)
3. To me, Google is a small part of the problem ... there are also these
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 09:44 AM
Jun 2014

zillions of sites that compile all sorts of information about one and then release it for a fee. And, this works both ways, devious individuals could request to have information removed ... it's almost a form of censorship IMO.

 

magical thyme

(14,881 posts)
5. other than occasional special offers for minutes, Tracfone doesn't bombard me with advertising
Tue Jul 1, 2014, 09:09 AM
Jul 2014

"tailored" to what companies think they can make me "need."

And it doesn't have the ability to compile vast amounts of information about me to sell to other companies the way google does.

Facebook is creepy.
Google is creepy.

In my face intrusion into whatever I'm trying to do. But then, I don't particularly like having people hovering around in my face trying to "wait on me" when I'm doing my own thing. It's like overprotective smother-love...until it's something else.

 

magical thyme

(14,881 posts)
7. the internet, yes. the artificial mother love, no. creeps me out.
Tue Jul 1, 2014, 11:38 AM
Jul 2014

thank dawg for adblocker.

But then, my mother was an overbearing, mentally and physically abusive asshole who crapped all over everything. So I get particularly creeped out by inappropriate mother love.

I'm very much a get out of my face person.

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