Gmail Dangerous?

[Charly1405241472 0]

Thirty-One Privacy and Civil Liberties Organizations

Urge Google to Suspend Gmail

 

The World Privacy Forum and 30 other privacy and civil liberties organizations have written a letter [inserted below] calling upon Google to suspend its Gmail service until the privacy issues are adequately addressed. The letter also calls upon Google to clarify its written information policies regarding data retention and data sharing among its business units.

 

The 31 organizations are voicing their concerns about Google’s plan to scan the text of all incoming messages for the purposes of ad placement, noting that the scanning of confidential email for inserting third party ad content violates the implicit trust of an email service provider. The scanning creates lower expectations of privacy in the email medium and may establish dangerous precedents.

 

Other concerns include the unlimited period for data retention that Google’s current policies allow, and the potential for unintended secondary uses of the information Gmail will collect and store.

 

An Open Letter to Google Regarding Its Proposed Gmail Service

 

From:

World Privacy Forum

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

      and

Australian Privacy Foundation

Grayson Barber, Privacy Advocate

Bits of Freedom (Netherlands)

British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (Canada)

Calegislation

CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering)

Roger Clarke, Privacy Research and Advocate (Australia)

Consumer Action

Consumer Federation of America

Consumer Federation of California

Consumer Task Force for Automotive Issues

Electronic Privacy Information Center

Federación de Consumidores en Acción (FACUA) (Spain)

Foundation for Information Policy Research (United Kingdom)

Mari Frank, Esq., Author of Identity Theft Survival Kit

Simson L. Garfinkel, Author of Database Nation

Edward Hasbrouck, Author and Consumer Advocate

Massachusetts Consumer Assistance Council

Massachusetts Consumers' Coalition

National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators (NACAA)

National Consumers League

PrivacyActivism

Privacy International (United Kingdom)

Privacy Rights Now Coalition

Privacy Times

Private Citizen, Inc.

Privaterra (Canada)

Public Information Research, Inc.

Utility Consumers' Action Network

Notice from jipman:

https://www.privacyrights.org/blog/thirty-one-privacy-and-civil-liberties-organizations-urge-google-suspend-gmail

warn +20%

 

you have to use quote-brackets for quoted stuff

[musichere 0]

In my opinion this is simply out of jealousy and awe of Gmail, which has of course exploded recently.If you don't like gmail, if you're scared of gmail, if you think it's a bad thing in any way, then DONT USE IT.The people that use Gmail (not me) are using it because it gives a great service, with lightning speeds and amazing storage space. I don't see how anyone can find that a bad thing. It doesn't even put advertisments in the outgoing or incoming emails that you send (yahoo and hotmail do this). Gmail is on the rise, and the people that want to knock it down are just wanting to cause problems and interfere with people's lives.

[Dooga1405241478 0]

I hate to ruin this, but the post is copied from https://www.privacyrights.org/blog/thirty-one-privacy-and-civil-liberties-organizations-urge-google-suspend-gmail!!!

[musichere 0]

I hate to ruin this, but the post is copied from https://www.privacyrights.org/blog/thirty-one-privacy-and-civil-liberties-organizations-urge-google-suspend-gmail!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think what he meant was to put the letter in a quote and add something of his own to the end, but it ended up wrong.

[OpaQue 15]

Reduced 5 hosting credits for not Quoting.As for the Gmail thing, They really need to put the things forward. I think Google really breaches its privacy agreement. Some of the facts explained in Googlewatch.com are really disturbing.

[whafizi 0]

today, everything is tapped. phones, internet, even emails.

 

see what yahoo mail have written at the bottom of the page;

 

Copyright Š 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright Policy Terms of Service

NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site.

To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy

but im still using it. why? because i dont think i m a threat to anyone.

[jcguy 0]

I don't think Google wants to collect our personal data so that they can sell to spammers or do malicious stuff or something. They just want to serve adverts to us to make money. Given the wonderful services they provide, I think it's only fair.

[wwheeler 0]

I don't think Google wants to collect our personal data so that they can sell to spammers or do malicious stuff or something. They just want to serve adverts to us to make money. Given the wonderful services they provide, I think it's only fair.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are exactly right..

 

Plus there are legal things that, should they be asked to do, they would have to do.

[Xevian 0]

You are exactly right..

 

Plus there are legal things that, should they be asked to do, they would have to do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well... Considering all this, they still must TELL us that they will be collecting personal information, or we shall just excercise our human rights!

I nicked this off the Declaration thing... I think 1, 2, 3, 20 and 22 are the closest I can get to it...

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

 

Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

 

Article 3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

 

Article 20.

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

 

(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

 

Article 22.

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Now then... I hope that google will not breach this... Or trouble will be knocking on their door!

[evion 0]

Oh COME ON! Citizens of the Earth! Has anyone thought how IF gmail is dangerous and may pose a threat to our confidential e-mails, they most DEFINITELY be sued or jailed for not conforming into the rights of their company. Google is a company which is looked-up to by many. It has developed and is still develping. We all know that Google's gmail is scanning our emails for detecting scams or junk of the sort, but they are doing it for our own use. Its free, big, and fast. Why waste it? Besides, if gmail is still in closed Beta with unknown bugs and errors, will YOU use it for important e-mails?

[Xevian 0]

Techocian has also got a point there... Actually people who are actually that dense as to use a unsafe programme to send private and confidential stuff... I have nothing to say... I still have to impliment that they MUST put up a sign that states that they collect and store our private information so as not to breach on millions of peoples' worth of human rights!

[pixelsmack 0]

hmmm... this is interesting because you know what i couldn't care less if they use the contents of my e-mail for coperate research and advertising. there is nothing in there to hide.As long as you are consenting to this during the sign-up then it is a free service, you cannot expect them not to have a business motive behind the idea, they are however a business.

[saxsux 0]

Personally, I can see nothing wrong with Gmail doing this. Its better to have small, relevant, unobtrusive ads down the side of an email than those gigantic hideous things every page of yahoo and hotmail seem to be plastered in...What everyone seems to forget is that all these other email services scan our emails too. Spam checkers, virus scanning. Its exactly the same as checking the mail to see if it's spam, except instead it being moved to a seperate folder marked SPAM, we get little relevant ads down the side.I can't see anything wrong with it what so ever.

[finaldesign1405241487 0]

but consider this: terrorists may use gmail to spread it's information, and they can use gmail as ther primary communication service. How to control that? Im sure there is some system filter integrated which scans user's email for targeted words: like 'kill', 'president' and such things.

[ariolander 0]

Google is a publically traded comany now. Thought investrs care a whole lot about money I doubt they would let Google do anything immoral nor illegal like that. Google is looked up to in the technology fireld. Where once all the greatest minds looked to be with microsoft it seems that Google is the collecting point of minds and innovation. I seriously doubt they would use any of your information beyond the ads.

 

One thing to keep in mind though is that Google is no more of a threat that AOL. At least Google does not claim all information passed through their services to be their own intelectual property such as AOL where: "You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the content or to be compensated for any such uses" Was reading an article and they highlited the TOS that states the terms give AOL ownership of "all right, title and interest in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by AOL using or incorporating this content into their services."

 

"In addition, by posting content on an AIM Product, you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this content in any medium"

 

 

Now if any thing is a threat to privacy I would say aOL moreso than google with not only its email but AIM aswell. Its TOS clearly states that by using it you "You waive any right to privacy"... At least Google's TOS says no such thing as far as I know and they are willing to make reassurances rather than claiming National Security is the reasoning behind the invasion of your privacy... Damn Patriot Act...