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Google keyword warrants give U.S. government data on search users

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Re: Google keyword warrants give U.S. government data on search users

#51
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say that as if DuckDuckGo is completely immune to the same sorts of warrants. They're all the same, serving you ads based on your search terms.

> You say that as if DuckDuckGo is completely immune to the same sorts of warrants. If you don't collect data, you can't share it in a warrant.

But they do though. How else are they going to serve you ads based on your search terms? (which they plainly say on their website that they do)

There isn't a single search engine anywhere that isn't collecting some data. Not even DDG.

Re: Google keyword warrants give U.S. government data on search users

#52
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been de-googling my life as much as possible the last year. I think it's impossible to completely be rid of it but at least I feel I'm doing something. Moving important email to protonmail. I only use firefox and duckduckgo browsers. Pretty much exclusively using duckduckgo for search. I've installed a PiHole on my home network. I've switched to an iPhone... although I considering some custom android ROM now. Us…

> Moving important email to protonmail. https://www.thedailybeast.com/secure-email-provider-protonma... Protonmail literally gave up the personal info of some French activists who were later arrested...

Because France had a treaty with Switzerland, the home country of protonmail, and Switzerland gave Protonmail a legally binding warant to turn over information. Nothing that Protonmail could do unless they themselves wanted to be arrested.

Re: Google keyword warrants give U.S. government data on search users

#53
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say that as if DuckDuckGo is completely immune to the same sorts of warrants. They're all the same, serving you ads based on your search terms.

> You say that as if DuckDuckGo is completely immune to the same sorts of warrants. If you don't collect data, you can't share it in a warrant.

protonmail used to say this on their website and removed it after some people were arrested because they did provide logs to the french authorities.

the catch is that they didn't log by default but they had to log specific users due to a warrant.

the same will happen any service hosted by legal businesses.

Re: Google keyword warrants give U.S. government data on search users

#54
post #8

DuckDuckGo famously does not save your search history but the way things are going I fear that one day such a thing will be mandated.

And ProtonMail never keeps (er, kept) IP logs.

You can trust them if you want, but really can you trust any company now days?

Re: Google keyword warrants give U.S. government data on search users

#55
post #3

In principle I don't have a problem with the police getting a warrant to find out who searched for a specific name or place in a constrained time frame. It's a bit like the police asking the library who checked out a specific book. The problem is that this could obviously be used with keywords that target a wide group of people, e.g. finding everyone who plans to attend a protest. If we continue to allow keyword warr…

>"If we continue to allow keyword warrants we should add a law limiting their reach, e.g. by limiting the number of people who can be revealed in the answer to any one such warrant."

What's frustrating is that that limit is already present in the constitution itself: "upon probable cause... and... *particularly* describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized". "Particularly" isn't syntactic sugar; it is a word with meaning. "Specifically, uniquely or individually"; "In detail; with regard to particulars". Mass/dragnet/geofence warrants aren't constitutional.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/particularly#Adverb

Plenty of federal judges seem to agree,

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/08/new-federal-court-ruli...

"...geofence warrant violates the Fourth Amendment’s probable cause and particularity requirements"*

Re: Google keyword warrants give U.S. government data on search users

#56
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been de-googling my life as much as possible the last year. I think it's impossible to completely be rid of it but at least I feel I'm doing something. Moving important email to protonmail. I only use firefox and duckduckgo browsers. Pretty much exclusively using duckduckgo for search. I've installed a PiHole on my home network. I've switched to an iPhone... although I considering some custom android ROM now. Us…

> Moving important email to protonmail. https://www.thedailybeast.com/secure-email-provider-protonma... Protonmail literally gave up the personal info of some French activists who were later arrested...

ProtonMail was required to do this, under Swiss law. They don't track you by default, but they can be compelled to add logging by their government.

This isn't an issue with ProtonMail in particular; any email provider has to follow local laws, and Swiss law is generally a pretty good framework if you have to choose.

Re: Google keyword warrants give U.S. government data on search users

#57

As a person neither leaning East nor West who is an avid HN reader it's always interesting to read the comments under such topics where the collusion between US private companies come up. Comparing it to the reactions when tenous connections between Chinese companies and the CCP are characterised as a threat to freedom and human rights. It reminds me to be wary of my own biases. Because from where I stand they are al…

Courts in the US are generally quite independent of the political process. Abuse of the court system is prosecuted fairly heavily. This is "rule of law".

On the other hand, courts in China do whatever the CCP tells them. These are not equivalent.

Re: Google keyword warrants give U.S. government data on search users

#58
post #56
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Moving important email to protonmail. https://www.thedailybeast.com/secure-email-provider-protonma... Protonmail literally gave up the personal info of some French activists who were later arrested...

ProtonMail was required to do this, under Swiss law. They don't track you by default, but they can be compelled to add logging by their government. This isn't an issue with ProtonMail in particular; any email provider has to follow local laws, and Swiss law is generally a pretty good framework if you have to choose.

For the record, I have no issue with Protonmail (or other tech companies) following the law. But their claim was always that email was encrypted and they "don't track you" which was always nonsense. Just like Apple's privacy promises. In the end all tech companies either track you, have the ability to track you, and have to give you up to the relevant authorities.

Re: Google keyword warrants give U.S. government data on search users

#59
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You say that as if DuckDuckGo is completely immune to the same sorts of warrants. If you don't collect data, you can't share it in a warrant.

But they do though. How else are they going to serve you ads based on your search terms? (which they plainly say on their website that they do) There isn't a single search engine anywhere that isn't collecting some data. Not even DDG.

DDG's privacy policy says:

> When you search at DuckDuckGo, we don't know who you are and there is no way to tie your searches together.

> When you access DuckDuckGo (or any Web site), your Web browser automatically sends information about your computer, e.g. your User agent and IP address.

> Because this information could be used to link you to your searches, we do not log (store) it at all.

https://duckduckgo.com/privacy#s3

Re: Google keyword warrants give U.S. government data on search users

#60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google “How to kill your husband” and hand it back to her. Congrats, you’re safe for another month! Sure, google's search results suck nowadays, but she could always just go to the library.

First 20 results are SEO sites with words Husband and Husbandry in them.

makes perfect sense, there's lots of killing in animal husbandry.
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