U.S. And Google Get Gonged

This story was written by CBSNews.com's Melissa McNamara.

The advocates are unhappy with Google for maintaining the records of user search habits, and with the United States for subpoenaing them.

The Justice Department, seeking to revive an online pornography law struck down by the Supreme Court, has subpoenaed Google for details on what its users have been looking for through its popular search engine. Google is fighting the subpoena.

Pam Dixon, executive director of World Privacy Forum, says search engines should not store "this honey pot of data" in the first place. Most search engines store information to maintain a competitive advantage.

"If they all didn't keep logs, then this subpoena wouldn't be nearly as frightening," Dixon says. "We're all concerned about the second shoe dropping."

But this doesn't let the government off the hook.

"The government should not use private companies' data as its research library," Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute and Privacilla.org editor says. "When there are specific suspects or issues in a case, warrants and subpoenas should be used to get information, but not for purposes like these."

Adds Chris Hoofnagle, director and senior counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center: "What is stopping the government from turning these requests for information into a general criminal investigation?"

Despite this criticism of the government, privacy advocates are — if anything — more miffed with Google since they have come to expect such information-gathering expeditions from government prosecutors.

The search engine's standing in the civil liberties hit parade wasn't exactly enhanced by news that Google has agreed to censorship restrictions imposed by China.

In order to obtain a slice of the potentially lucrative Chinese market, Google has agreed to omit Web content that China's government finds objectionable. Google will base its censorship decisions on guidance provided by government officials, a move that is further rattling its critics.

At home or abroad, Google and other Internet companies are operating in largely uncharted waters.

"We need to start having some precedents … about what is an appropriate search under the fourth amendment," says John Soma, University of Denver law professor and executive director of Privacy Foundation.

This is an important question, some say, because its implications are far-reaching in an age of digital battles and heightened national security.

"This case arises out of the government effort to protect children," says Jim Dempsey, policy director at the Center for Democracy and Technology. "But there will be other cases involving other crimes or national security or copyright infringement or other matters."

"Like it or not, we all live in a fish bowl," CBSNews.com technology analyst Larry Magid says.

Some bloggers, such as Technology Bytes, echo Magid's point: "Before we go any further, let me say that every time we access the Internet, be it search engines or any other Web site, we are actually giving some of our information to them."

Privacy advocates see this type of warning as a silver lining. Google's record-holding and the government's demand for them has given advocates a concrete example of the potential risks surfers take online.

©Melissa McNamara MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved