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Google argues lawsuit concerning UK privacy should be brought in California

theguardian.com

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Re: Google argues lawsuit concerning UK privacy should be brought in California

#11

Post by belorn »

arethuza wrote: post #2

I think that headline is slightly misleading - Google is running an argument in court that as their service is supplied from the US then they can't be sued here in the UK. If the courts decide otherwise then Google has quite a lot of assets here in the UK in the form of Google UK Limited - obviously tiny compared to the US parent but still a pretty substantial organization by any objective measure. I tend to side wit…

> If they were a US only operation then fair enough - it would seem silly to sue them here in the UK.

That seems a bit odd in a legal way. If a user breaks into Google servers, we don't care where the server is located. Why should the location of the server matter if its the server operators that do the crime? Shouldn't the same laws rule everyone equally?

Re: Google argues lawsuit concerning UK privacy should be brought in California

#12

Post by brainsic »

yapcguy wrote: post #10
arethuza wrote: post #2

I think that headline is slightly misleading - Google is running an argument in court that as their service is supplied from the US then they can't be sued here in the UK. If the courts decide otherwise then Google has quite a lot of assets here in the UK in the form of Google UK Limited - obviously tiny compared to the US parent but still a pretty substantial organization by any objective measure. I tend to side wit…

Begs the question, so what exactly does the Google UK office actually do again?! Google "operates" in the UK, the second biggest market for advertising revenue yet manages to book their profits in Ireland because that's where their sales are "signed". Yet even that Dublin office has no profit as they have expenses to pay to the tune of billions in IP to a patent-holding Google subsidiary in Bermuda. This must me a wa…

It might come as a shock to you but people (and corporations) try to win in court, arguing over jurisdiction is an automatic first step - nothing extraordinary is happening here.

And if you need someone to point for you the difference between this no harm money/publicly seeking bullshit lawsuit, and chemical spill disasters then you lack all perspective.

Re: Google argues lawsuit concerning UK privacy should be brought in California

#13

Post by [deleted] »

mf3i21 wrote: post #8
brainsic wrote: post #6

Google has been called "arrogant and immoral" - by whom? the plaintiff?! Google is arguing about jurisdiction in front of a judge, why is the author doing publicity work for the plaintiff? and why is a routine legal argument news?

Because since the revelations about Google providing the NSA direct access to servers, they are extremely unpopular. Combine that with their reluctance to pax any form of tax, and they have the same public image as an arms dealer.

[deleted]

Re: Google argues lawsuit concerning UK privacy should be brought in California

#14

Post by 1010011010 »

mf3i21 wrote: post #8
brainsic wrote: post #6

Google has been called "arrogant and immoral" - by whom? the plaintiff?! Google is arguing about jurisdiction in front of a judge, why is the author doing publicity work for the plaintiff? and why is a routine legal argument news?

Because since the revelations about Google providing the NSA direct access to servers, they are extremely unpopular. Combine that with their reluctance to pax any form of tax, and they have the same public image as an arms dealer.

"Google providing the NSA direct access to servers" [Citation needed]

The NSA appears to have tapped 3rd party fiber links, and not Google directly. Google is now encrypting data across those links, moving all client access to use https, and advocating for http/2.0 (based on SPDY) to allow only encrypted connections.

Re: Google argues lawsuit concerning UK privacy should be brought in California

#15

Post by brainsic »

belorn wrote: post #11
arethuza wrote: post #2

I think that headline is slightly misleading - Google is running an argument in court that as their service is supplied from the US then they can't be sued here in the UK. If the courts decide otherwise then Google has quite a lot of assets here in the UK in the form of Google UK Limited - obviously tiny compared to the US parent but still a pretty substantial organization by any objective measure. I tend to side wit…

> If they were a US only operation then fair enough - it would seem silly to sue them here in the UK. That seems a bit odd in a legal way. If a user breaks into Google servers, we don't care where the server is located. Why should the location of the server matter if its the server operators that do the crime? Shouldn't the same laws rule everyone equally?

Said "user"s lawyer can certainly argue on bases of jurisdiction as well.

Also there is no "crime" here, it's all preliminary stuff.

Re: Google argues lawsuit concerning UK privacy should be brought in California

#16

Post by [deleted] »

brainsic wrote: post #12
yapcguy wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Begs the question, so what exactly does the Google UK office actually do again?! Google "operates" in the UK, the second biggest market for advertising revenue yet manages to book their profits in Ireland because that's where their sales are "signed". Yet even that Dublin office has no profit as they have expenses to pay to the tune of billions in IP to a patent-holding Google subsidiary in Bermuda. This must me a wa…

It might come as a shock to you but people (and corporations) try to win in court, arguing over jurisdiction is an automatic first step - nothing extraordinary is happening here. And if you need someone to point for you the difference between this no harm money/publicly seeking bullshit lawsuit, and chemical spill disasters then you lack all perspective.

[deleted]

Re: Google argues lawsuit concerning UK privacy should be brought in California

#17

Post by gaius »

buro9 wrote: post #7

> Judith Vidal-Hall, one of the claimants suing Google, said: "Google is very much here in the UK. It has a UK specific site. It has staff here. It sells adverts here. It makes money here. It is ludicrous for it to claim that, despite all of this very commercial activity, it won't answer to our courts." That does sum up my view on it too. If there is a case to answer, then given that Google are here in the UK then th…

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/01/google-new...

A billion quid and 4500 employees. Seems a bit much for a country in which you don't make any profit, no?

Re: Google argues lawsuit concerning UK privacy should be brought in California

#18

Post by lettergram »

mf3i21 wrote: post #8
brainsic wrote: post #6

Google has been called "arrogant and immoral" - by whom? the plaintiff?! Google is arguing about jurisdiction in front of a judge, why is the author doing publicity work for the plaintiff? and why is a routine legal argument news?

Because since the revelations about Google providing the NSA direct access to servers, they are extremely unpopular. Combine that with their reluctance to pax any form of tax, and they have the same public image as an arms dealer.

The U.K. spys on it's own users and shares it with the U.S (that was also released by Snowden)... I am confused as to why Google is any more to blame than the U.K. government itself.

Re: Google argues lawsuit concerning UK privacy should be brought in California

#19

Post by lettergram »

I do not remember exactly where I read this (so if someone could point me in the right direction I would be grateful), but I thought I read something about U.K. government was working with the U.S. to spy on its people...

If that is true, then why is Google being sued and not the U.K. government?

Re: Google argues lawsuit concerning UK privacy should be brought in California

#20

Post by chc »

brainsic wrote: post #12
yapcguy wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Begs the question, so what exactly does the Google UK office actually do again?! Google "operates" in the UK, the second biggest market for advertising revenue yet manages to book their profits in Ireland because that's where their sales are "signed". Yet even that Dublin office has no profit as they have expenses to pay to the tune of billions in IP to a patent-holding Google subsidiary in Bermuda. This must me a wa…

It might come as a shock to you but people (and corporations) try to win in court, arguing over jurisdiction is an automatic first step - nothing extraordinary is happening here. And if you need someone to point for you the difference between this no harm money/publicly seeking bullshit lawsuit, and chemical spill disasters then you lack all perspective.

I agree with your point, but I'm not sure the hostility is really necessary.
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