Eric Schmidt Claims Google Considered Moving Its Servers Out Of The US To Avoid The NSA
from the that-would-be-big dept
We've been hearing more and more reports that many folks within Google are incredibly angry over the NSA's activities, some of which has bubbled up already. There have been some questions, though, about whether those attitudes go all the way up the management chain, so it's interesting to see Google's chairman, Eric Schmidt, now claiming that the company actually considered taking all its servers out of the US in the wake of the NSA revelations.Google, the giant of the Internet, thought about moving its servers out of the U.S. after the NSA debacle, said Eric Schmidt, the company's chairman, on Friday at the Paley International Council Summit in New York.Of course, what Google probably realized is that, once out of the US, the NSA actually has more powers to spy on anything with basically no oversight. At least in the US, there are some (if minimal) restrictions, and there are at least some ways to fight back. Still, it would be quite a statement for a company like Google to make that kind of a move, and again would highlight just how much of a bad business impact all this NSA spying can have on American companies.
"Actually, we thought about that and there are many, many reasons why it's impossible for Google to leave the United States, although it's attractive," Schmidt said.
"But the reason it's an interesting idea is because American firms are subject to these rules, the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] rules, Patriot Act and so forth, and this government surveillance is really a problem."
The real question is how much will Google continue to do in response to these revelations. Many, many people don't trust the company, and taking a strong stand to protect its users privacy and to push back against government surveillance is going to be necessary, or the company runs a real risk of driving many people to other services that promise to be more secure.
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Filed Under: eric schmidt, nsa, servers, surveillance, us
Companies: google
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Liar liar pants on fire
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Re: Liar liar pants on fire
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Re: Liar liar pants on fire
That was the last time I used them for anything. Pretty clear this was all going to happen, even then.
Google has a marketing problem. They're blind to the behavioral problem that created it.
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Re: Re: Liar liar pants on fire
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Liar liar
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What's the problem
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The problem isn't the server location, it's the people wanting the information....
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It's the people wanting the information...
- Information.
- Whose side are you on?
- That would be telling. We want information... information... information!
- You won't get it!
- By hook or by crook... we will.
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Google is evil
*Insert Ad Hominem attacks Techdirt and Mike*
*Insert Typical OOTB Closing*
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Re: Google is evil
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Anonymouse
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Re: Re: Anonymouse
I thought his auto-insert macro was broken and it just showed the placeholders rather then his typical rants....
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Re:
EU is not too bad for avoiding NSAs direct surveillance. When that is said, the intelligence agencies are worse on some areas than NSA in several EU countries.
Southern America would be OK even though NSA has quite some surveillance there.
South East Asian countries may be willing to accomodate them, but the internet-connections to the rest of the world is generally lacking there.
India and South Korea has some positives and some negatives.
Ultimately it is impossible to avoid surveillance and if they find a way, there will be laws incoming to stop that way.
What Schmidt is saying is completely meaningless. Even though he may be right about them discussing it, Google cannot do anything to stop the problem and therefore his words cannot be but empty drivel to satisfy people who do not look deep enough to see his bluff.
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Ability
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Re: Ability
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Re: Ability
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"MUHAHAHA! We can keep your data safe from the NSA, but we don't want to because it would slightly hurt our profits!"
Douche.
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Irony
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Google = NSA Front
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Re: Google = NSA Front
But then of course... all phones are, since the radio chips have their own CPU and OS that is easily hacked.
But Android spies on both CPUs.
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I block Google at every point I can on my machine. Have for a long time. I don't like ads, whether with nice pictures or served up in the results. If I were looking for ads, Google might be great. I use none of it's services. When places atttempt to force you into having some sort of account like Google plus (whatever that is) I drop those services as well.
What I don't do, is play troll on places about Google. Were this not part of the topic of the article, I wouldn't be saying diddly.
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Re:
Yes, you need a bunch of servers, but it is a moral imperative to replace Google...
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Google's products rely on surveillance
Now, there's a big difference between signing up or opting in to Google surveillance as a Google user versus having the government step in and scoop up all that data behind the scenes (Google users are giving their data to Google, but their not intentionally giving it to the NSA), and that's where there's a lot that Google can and should do... but the whole Google experience is based on user surveillance. It's no wonder that kind of centralized, surveillance-based infrastructure is going to become a target for overreaching governments.
The real safeguards and solutions that interest me aren't more secure surveillance-based systems, but decentralized, user-controlled services that don't have that giant, central data store that needs safeguarding in the first place.
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Give me a break, Schmidt
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Obverse, inverse
Schmidt's statement is just a flipping of the coin. I'll take my chances elsewhere, where the odds are better than 50/50.
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spin spin spin
That's the equation
spin spin spin
It's a lie for every purpose
Under heaven...
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Google should move
Maybe such a move would even have a sobering effect on the US government when it finally sinks in that America's obnoxious behavior is driving away big business. Nothing speaks louder in the halls of Congress than money.
If Google does move, they'll have to choose their new location carefully. They should scratch from their list any country that signs up for the TPP (assuming that obnoxious "trade agreement" actually passes). Actually, if Google is considering one of those countries that is negotiating TPP, they might do us all a favor by letting them know in advance that joining the TPP will eliminate their chance of getting the Google server farm.
Well, I'm dreaming. But it's a nice dream.
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