Google wants to help define privacy laws

[CB]

This week, Google made some suggestions that the world should follow a global policy standard, rather than allowing each county, state, and industry make its own rules.

Among it's many suggestions toward this global policy is the idea that punishment for revealing information about others should be based on how much the leak injured those others, as opposed to protecting privacy for privacy's sake.

The bigger it gets, the more Google seems to worry about privacy on the internet.

Reuters (http://mobile.reuters.com/mobile/m/FullArticle/CTECH/ntechnologyNews_uUSN1340110220070914)

[GHoosdum]

It is also crossing a few lines with this one.

I suppose they haven't yet violated their own "do no harm" doctrine, but this is scarily close.

[Lincoln]

The first thing I thought is: They want some clear guidelines so they stop taking hits whenever they "cross lines" that aren't well-articulated.

[CB]

Exactly.

[GHoosdum]

But I think lowering the bar to only protect privacy when the privacy violation "injures" is a move in the wrong direction.

Besides, how to define harm? I feel that I'm harmed every time Lexis Nexis sells my information to another customer... but would Google define that as harm? Probably not.

[CB]

Every time someone learns my real name, it's like a punch to the gut...

[Shorty]

The first thing I thought is: They want some clear guidelines so they stop taking hits whenever they "cross lines" that aren't well-articulated.
I would suspect this allows them global points not to cross rather than flying across them ;)