[345] in Privacy_Forum
[ PRIVACY Forum ] Greetings from the "Google Stooge"
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (privacy@vortex.com)
Wed Apr 16 23:33:45 2008
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Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:14:21 -0700
From: privacy@vortex.com
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Greetings from the "Google Stooge"
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000381.html
Greetings ... from the "Google Stooge" himself. At least that's
what I've been accused of being -- in those words and various
equivalents -- by some of the vitriolic e-mails that I received in
response to my take on the lawsuit filed against Google's Street
View service ( http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000380.html ).
To say that I feel immersed in a Kafkaesque adventure would be an
understatement -- especially after the wide range of writings and
comments I've made over the years.
We seem to have reached the bizarre and I would submit unhealthy
Internet chapter where saying anything positive regarding Google
triggers an onslaught of negative responses ranging from accusatory
complaints to bitter tirades.
There were thoughtful responses as well, both positive and
negative. But even with my rather thick skin when it comes to
dealing with such things, some of the naysayers were painfully
impolite.
I appear to have upset some of my notable contemporaries in the
"privacy community" as well. One called my posting "complete
nonsense" in comments that were copied to me.
This isn't the first time in my life that I've been accused of
speaking or writing what someone views as nonsense, so that sort of
assessment rolls off my back pretty easily. But a message from
another privacy personality was as polite as it was disturbing.
The sender noted pretty much essential agreement with my arguments
regarding the lawsuit, but strongly asserted that my post was "most
unhelpful" by "undermining" efforts to bring Google into advocacy
group consultations.
In other words, even though what I said was true, the suggestion was
that I should just shut my damn mouth up and not make any positive
public statements regarding Google, even when I feel that Google is
in the right.
I reject this reasoning out of hand. Public discourse regarding
Internet technology, privacy, society, and the whole range of
related concerns should not be conducted like a game of poker,
replete with bluffs and misleading body language.
To the extent that we really care about reaching workable and
practical forms of consensus on these matters, we should be as open
as possible not only about what firms do wrong, but about what
they've done right as well.
When a corporation -- even a big and powerful one -- is getting an
unfair or raw deal -- and/or when important second order issues are
also involved, interested observers should be able to so state
publicly without fear of ad hominem attacks.
Google, like every other firm, is made up of people (if this weren't
such a serious topic, I'd throw in a gratuitous <i>Soylent Green</i>
joke at this point). And while a firm's management deserves to be
criticized when they've screwed up, they also deserve to be publicly
and openly supported when their positions are correct and
appropriate.
As far as I'm concerned, for us to do anything less is ethically
bankrupt.
--Lauren--
Lauren "Google Stooge" Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com or lauren@pfir.org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
- People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
- Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
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