News

Beyond Google

The Department of Justice’s subpoena of Google search data generated considerable attention last month with a judge ultimately ordering disclosure of only a fraction of what the U.S. government initally demanded.  At the time, the coverage noted that Google was not the only target with similar requests to AOL, Microsoft, and Yahoo.

This morning comes word that this was actually just the tip of the iceberg.  Information Week is reporting that the DOJ actually sought information from 34 companies including major telcos (AT&T, Verizon), ISPs (Earthlink), cable companies (Comcast, Time Warner), and software companies (McAfee, Symantec).   Makes you wonder just how many of these companies simply handed over the data without court oversight and how many other times law enforcement officials have made similar requests.

One Comment

  1. Andy Dabydeen says:

    I wonder how much information on international internet users have been divulged … especially since US telcos are the backbone for much international traffic. In context of America’s war on terror, I can only imagine that a lot of focus has been on international traffic. Just exactly what is being sifted makes me worry, especially since America seems hell bent on enforcing US laws in foreign nations. When will other unfortunate tourist to the US be arrested for a crime they didn’t know they were guilty of?