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[JavaRanch] Gmail - Threat to the free world?

According to Wired magazine, a California state senator is drafting legislation to block Google's new email service, Gmail. Among the stupider things said by this politician, "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 (D-Fremont).

What exactly is the problem with Gmail? Google intends on analyzing your email and then show you a banner ad that is appropriate for that email. This is similar to the AdSense product that they currently use for web sites. They scan the contents of the page and then generate an ad appropriate for that page. Gmail will work exactly the same way. If someone sends you an email discussing their vacation in DisneyWorld, presumably Gmail will show an ad for vacation resorts.

Apparently, this has some people all upset because Google will be "reading" your mail in order to generate the ad. Well, I have a surprise for these people. Every email service "reads" your email in order to display it on the screen. Do you think Yahoo! closes their eyes when they pull your email up? It is true that they aren't reading it to generate a banner ad but so what? As long as Google isn't making my email visible to others who cares that they read it to generate a banner ad in addition to reading it to display it to me?

The worst part of this is that some politician in California thinks that she knows better than I do what level of privacy I want. If I am willing to let Google display targeted banner ads to me in exchange for a free email service then isn't that my business?

Comments[6] Posted by sherifftom on April 22, 2004 10:22:54 AM EDT

Reply | Permalink Re: Gmail - Threat to the free world?

Check out this article for a decent analysis of the privacy issues surrounding GMail.

Comment from Mark on April 23, 2004 12:46:56 AM EDT

Reply | Permalink Re: Gmail - Threat to the free world?

You may want to check out Tim O'Reilly's blog on oreillynet.com where he says pretty much the same. I agree there's little new under the Sun :) here except that the ads will be more targeted. Every "free" email provider includes advertising in email but at the moment most of it is more or less randomised content (at most localised depending on the guestimated location of the reader). The main problem with GMail I think comes from the searching options provided and the idea that Google will keep every single email into eternity even if you delete it (which is how I read the initial announcement too). Of course other email providers can do that too and in some countries are already by law required to do so (they just don't tell you)...

Comment from Jeroen Wenting on April 23, 2004 2:13:31 AM EDT

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Tom, I agree with everything you said. However, I will say that yes, it's your business if you want to let Google read all your Email. But I think what might be concerning these people is that if I send you an email tom tom@gmail.com, I did not concent my mail to be scanned as you probably did in the agreement to become a member. So people who Email gmail users have no say in what happens to their Email. Now, with that being said, isn't Internet Privacy an oxymoron?

Comment from Gregg Bolinger on April 23, 2004 5:19:00 PM EDT

Reply | Permalink Re: Gmail - Threat to the free world?

Except you are sending to an @gmail.com email address, and you already know what gmail is about. But of course, that's you, and maybe we're talking about an unsuspecting first-time sender to gmail. Having said that.. you're right about "internet privacy"; it's a complete oxymoron. And the real problem is that most people sending anything down the wire (an http request, an email, an instant message) don't understand that unless they're using PGP/SSL etc, etc, there is no way to guarantee security of their message. What's the dialog box that **everyone** shuts off when they first see it on a brand new installation of IE? The one that says "this is not guaranteed to be a private communication". If your point is that you didn't give consent to google to read the email, then doesn't that argument apply equally to every single ISP that offers a pop server that you might send to? Aren't you implicitly agreeing that the email system you send to will be "reading" that email at *some* point? Perhaps it's "to what purpose" that is the disagreeable part. Of course, if you're using it to suggest this or that restaurant to a friend, it would be extremely annoying to know that your email, when displayed to the recipient, has an ad for a competing restaurant! When all is said and done though, at **some** point, the email you send, or the email you read is there to be seen (by anyone that has the skill)... http://www.disappearing-inc.com/V/vaneckphreaking.html

Comment from Mike C on April 23, 2004 11:50:01 PM EDT

Reply | Permalink Re: Gmail - Threat to the free world?

the difference with ISP provided email accounts is that the ISPs bind themselves by contract to not keep copies of your messages unless ordered to by a court order. Google does no such thing, they specifically say they reserve the right to use your message for basically whatever they choose.

Comment from Jeroen Wenting on April 24, 2004 2:17:30 AM EDT

Reply | Permalink Re: Gmail - Threat to the free world?

Here is the link to Tim O'Reilly's piece: The Fuss About Gmail and Privacy: Nine Reasons Why It's Bogus

Comment from Tom on April 24, 2004 12:59:49 PM EDT

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