| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Eric Schmidt | ||||
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On the show, which is known for its dry and sometimes sarcastic humor, the host, Stephen Colbert, discussed some of the privacy issues associated with Google, including data mining and the secrets of its algorithm.
Mr. Colbert initially asked Mr. Schmidt about Google’s ability to remember information about people online and its storing of that information. Mr. Schmidt said, “It’s true that we see your searches, but we forget them after a while,” to which Mr. Colbert responds, “Uh, huh, and I’m supposed to trust you on that?”
After a few more jokes, Mr. Colbert asked why Google decided to pull out of China, referring to the company’s decision to stop operating in the country this year. Mr. Schmidt said the company decided to stop working in China because, “We didn’t like their laws.” (Mr. Schmidt said it took four years for Google to figure out it didn’t like China’s laws.)
Finally, Mr. Colbert asked about privacy (loosely paraphrasing a comment Mr. Schmidt made last month): “Now you famously said, and I completely support this, the idea that someday, young people, instead of having privacy for the things they put up on Facebook — and be able to expunge that since once it’s up there it exists forever — that one day that they’ll just erase their histories and change their names and they’ll be scot-free,” Mr. Colbert said.
Mr. Schmidt’s response: “It was a joke.”
Mr. Colbert said, “I guess it was too hip for the room.”
Mr. Schmidt recognized that it is best to leave the jokes to the comedians.
Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, made his case for the campaign. He wrote:
ReplyDeleteDo you want Google or any other online company looking over your shoulder and tracking your every move online just so it can increase its profits? Consumers have a right to privacy. They should control how their information is gathered and what it is used for.
A spokesperson for the F.T.C. noted that the idea of a do not track list is actively being discussed inside the organization, pointing to a comment Jon Leibowitz, the F.T.C.’s chairman, said during an Internet Privacy hearing earlier this year.
ReplyDeleteJohn Simpson, the director of the group’s efforts involving Google, said his organization would continue to highlight the privacy issues until Congress or the F.T.C. got involved. “I’ve been in meetings with privacy groups where it comes up consistently, and I’ve talked with Washington staffers who are looking at the possibility of introducing legislation,” he said.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Mr. Simpson said Google had been receptive to some consumer changes, he doesn’t believe it’s in the company’s best interest to help consumers hide their personal identifiable information online.
“I think the fundamental problem with Google, and by extension Schmidt, is that they are first and foremost computer scientists that work in their own world where more data is better,” he said, discussing Google’s stance on privacy. “They don’t think about the consequences this will have on consumers’ personal privacy.”