A lot of flack has been directed recently at China, for earlier this month invading a few GMail accounts of political dissidents and gathering information. Because of this breach of trust and lapse in common decency, Google has issued a statement rebuking this “attack” of cyber-espionage. Only Google’s open letter that they’re too ethical to stand for these violations, doesn’t really deserve a round of applause… The irony is, constant surveillance and breach of privacy is how Google makes its money. The real unsavory issue is that Google’s problem with China relates more to having a poor market share (30%) and the fact that they consider  the practice of “monitoring everyone” to be sovereign domain.

Much like the 70-minute grilling of The Phantom Menace, someone… anyone, needs to call “bullshit” on this whole altruistic notion that Google routinely invades your privacy as part of some endeavor to build a better world. You are just a fucking resource to them, with your personal profile information sold bulk to advertisers. As in Amazon ads that appear on your screen, based on your browsing history. Much like the Matrix / Daybreakers hive of bodies that are harvested in some mechanized dystopian future, each person online has a Google embedded cookie that tracks all your searching and reports to a database, where it is kept for two years. Despite legal concerns that this information can be linked to your name, address, SSN# and medical records – there is no way to opt-out or deactivate this monitoring. And to all those that doubt this as a flimsy conspiracy, consider that Google paid $3.1 billion dollars to buy out DoubleClick.com. A company that got famous for huge legal challenges resulting from their little decision to correlate ISP addresses with private information, and package this data to advertisers.

The same constant-surveillance environment that I declared “bad” in order to receive an “A-” on a high school English paper for Orwell’s “1984,” I now have to consider “good” when talking about digital advertising. How does that work again? Or was that the whole point of “double-plus good” terminology and accepting contradictory truths? I don’t really know, as the DVD didn’t come with any extras.

But we do know, is that the GMail accounts of a few Dali Lama sympathisers aren’t the real issue. What if someone hacked into the databases that carry two-years of everyone’s search history that links easily to all your private information? Google openly and freely admits that they scan every message you write and receive, every search, anything… looking for keywords to add to your trackable profile. It’s right there in the fine print of their “privacy policy.” But so what? Everyone else does that, right? Well, Microsoft’s soft and cuddly CEO Steve Balmer told CNN that Microsoft doesn’t do that. He even alludes to the idea being unethical. And no one else admits to reading your mail either. Mozilla’s Asa Dotzler goes one further and keeps a 10-foot pole on hand, saying

“I’ve moved from Google Docs to Zoho, from Google Search to Bing, and from Gmail to my own email hosting plus my work email hosting… I personally think that it’s worth giving up money to give users a better and safer experience of the Web.”

Concerns to which the Google CEO responds with his thoughts on the matter, which came up in a CNBC interview last month. Essentially he says, “Screw you.”

“I think judgment matters. …If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines–including Google–do retain this information for some time. And it’s important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities.”

Google CEO Eric Schmidt

Our concern is that, if Google was your step-dad he would say the above disclaimer as a hall-pass to basically read your journal. And not only that, imagine going downstairs and seeing a bunch of corporate guys whacking off to the saucy details of boys who made it to third-base with you… Step-Dad of course would’ve invited them all over and charged $5. It’s his right.

Sometime in the early 90′s a government conspiracy rumor went around that everyone would have to have a mandated “National ID Card” with a chip implanted to track their whereabouts. Much like the current RFID chip implanted into new passports, that make their location trackable via radio waves. This really irritated pick-up truck driving types that like facial hair and hate the IRS. In addition to garden-variety anti-government and foil-helmet types. This fear worked so well that far-right talking heads still pull out the National ID chestnut occasionally, to combat notions of government “gone too far.” The point still exists though… that all this tracking and monitoring, somehow infringes on the ability to believe the current society values freedom – in its most basic definition. Yet it seems like the whole “Fuck you, stay out of my life” thing doesn’t really matter too much to people anymore. Especially when they post semi-nudes photos of themselves on Facebook and have a blaise reaction to Google reading their mail.

Now let’s imagine, this information of everything that you get up to online is routinely shared with anyone and everyone. If you’re Pete Townsend or Chris Langham doing “research” on child-porn, is that really a concern or threat to you? YES. Now let’s say you want to start a simple WordPress site of hate mongering and bullshit calling. Can you do this with out involving the Evil Empire of Google? NO. So like it or not, you have to use Google because everyone else is a limp-dick. At one point, Microsoft ironically put through an anti-trust lawsuit claiming that Google was gaining too many monopolies… But that still doesn’t explain why NO ONE ELSE can step up and provide 1) decent email, 2) free HD video hosting, 3) online analytics or everyone’s favorite 4) online advertising!

Literally, if we want to throw ads up on this site – there is no hope without using Google. Literally, just for a minute blog, we’d have to install OpenX and link up with a bunch of chincy ad sellers with names like “AdBrite” or “Clicksor,” that are essentially negligible.

Recap: So Google essentially runs an online police state, that monitors everyone. That said, now would be a good time to mention we also avoid Google Voice, their Nexus One phone and anything Android.

Google Voice is that cool call forwarding service they provide for free, that automatically listens to your voicemail and transcribes it as text. That’s great technology. Any word on if they also listen to anything but voicemail and transcribe that out? I know… Totally Winston Smith again, pulling back the curtains in the hotel room to see a screen recording his every move. But, that’s wrong again for what reasons? I forget. Facebook me the answer.

Meanwhile, we’re getting bored with pointing out the obvious. So if you want to hear how the Nexus One and any Android phone using Google is a “walking surveillance device” that tracks your physical location and gives Google access to all activity you’re up with Facebook alerts, IMs, contact lists, calendar, browsing, etc… Just check that niche, liberal rag USA Today.

So the lesson here is simple. Anything Google develops – is for the purpose of gathering more information. Which is how they make money. Don’t believe they’re building a better world by tracking your every keystroke. And there is no reason to believe they only transcribe voicemail. If the government can do eavesdropping, why can’t Google? You checked their privacy policy box.

So fuck China… Google is the Evil Empire.

Tags: Android, Google, HateBomb, Nexus One, Privacy
Posted in: HateBomb