Search companies - and online advertisers and publishers in general - record a lot of information in a general way. However, as they strive to extend their edge vis-a-vis one another, many want to record specific searching patterns, to offer personalized search. Of course, a lot of people would be uncomfortable with that…
That is actually good news to [excuse the shameless plug] a few new search players, like MetaMojo.com - which is part of the Mojo Supreme network.
Most Americans are uncomfortable with the fact that Internet search engines record their users’ queries, according to a survey released Wednesday that examined perceptions about federal authorities’ demands for such records.
Search engine companies recently sparked the debate by responding differently to the Justice Department’s subpoena for records on what their users had been looking up.
Google Inc. refused to comply, citing privacy along with a desire to protect its trade secrets. But Yahoo Inc. and other rivals have handed over their data, which the government says will be useful in an online pornography crackdown.
Equally contentious, however, is whether the search engine providers even should be storing such records.
In the new survey of 800 Americans by the University of Connecticut, 60 percent said they opposed the storage of users’ search queries. Just 32 percent supported the practice, which the companies say is necessary to improve the performance of their services.
Tags: Internet & Web|
Posted By: froosh | Feb 22nd
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