California legislator moves to block Gmail

SpinnerSpinner Birmingham, UK
edited April 2004 in Science & Tech
A California state senator said Monday she was drafting legislation to block Google's free e-mail service "Gmail" because it would place advertising in personal messages after searching them for key words.
"We think it's an absolute invasion of privacy. It's like having a massive billboard in the middle of your home," said Sen. Liz Figueroa, a Democrat from Fremont, Calif.

"We are asking them to rethink the whole product," she said.
Submitted by KingFish

Source: News.com

Comments

  • FormFactorFormFactor At the core of forgotten
    edited April 2004
    Complete waste of taxpayer dollars.
  • KingFishKingFish
    edited April 2004
    FormFactor wrote:
    Complete waste of taxpayer dollars.

    Yup, I think the marketplace should make that decision since there are plenty of alternatives to choose from. This shouldn't be in the realm of legislation, but that's simply an opinion.

    KingFish
  • pseudonympseudonym Michigan Icrontian
    edited April 2004
    GO GOVERNMENT!!! You keep doing things that are, ummmm, useful??:confused:
  • LincLinc Owner Detroit Icrontian
    edited April 2004
    Oh man, score one for hyperactive legislators that don't understand technology. Only reason I can think of to block Gmail is being on the payroll of M$ or Yahoo.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2004
    Fantastic. An autonomous program attaching a contextual advertisement allows unscrupulous people to... Not have more control over an email service than they already do!

    Heaven forbid a contextual advert be placed as a footer rather than a generic. Certainly that will allow them to search emails as any provider already may!
  • CammanCamman NEW! England Icrontian
    edited April 2004
    omg check this out, I solved this whole privacy problem without any courts or anything.

    If you think it's an invasion of privacy.....don't use the service.

    Now someone give me lots of money.
  • LincLinc Owner Detroit Icrontian
    edited April 2004
    Camman wrote:
    If you think it's an invasion of privacy.....don't use the service.
    Precisely. The good senator should give you her salary for the time she wasted on that nonsense to you. People took the Patriot Act lying down but are having a fit about a friggin' e-mail service run by innocuous software?? I think the privacy groups have just been starved for an issue lately.
  • tophericetopherice Oak Ridge, TN
    edited April 2004
    What's up with all the ************ in these posts? Only visible when viewed from the read more link on the S-M home page.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2004
    S-M Front Page wrote:

    We think i****'s an absolute invasion of privacy. I****'s like having a massive billboard in the middle of your home," said Sen. Liz ******igueroa, a Democra**** ******rom ******remon****, Calif.

    "We are asking them to rethink the whole produc****," ****e said.
  • LincLinc Owner Detroit Icrontian
    edited April 2004
    ;D oh my, I think the swear filter didn't like something I added... I'll go sort that now...

    //edit: fixt :p
  • Unregistered
    edited April 2004
    Let the people decide for themselves.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited April 2004
    I highly doubt any of the information is stored, and the page is generated on the fly, so it isn't invading anyones privacy. Thats like saying something that formats the page is invading your privacy as it needs to read the output of the page before writing it back out.
  • EyesOnlyEyesOnly Sweden New
    edited April 2004
    :rant:
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited April 2004
    wait ... its FREE, so we're paying to get rid of it?
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited April 2004
    Ya, 3 words here Madam Senator...:

    free e-mail service

    If people don't want the ads, they are welcome to not use the service.

    Dexter...
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