In a report released by Google, the United States government asked Google to remove 6,192 individual pieces of content from its search results, blog posts or archives of online videos. Overall, Google received 187 requests from United States law enforcement agencies and courts to remove content from its Web properties from July to December of 2011. A U.S. law enforcement agency asked Google to take down a blog that "allegedly defamed a law enforcement official in a personal capacity." Google did not comply with that request.
Should the government be allowed to retract information from Google's database? Users of the internet have always believed that the internet is fair game and that there is a no holds bar rule to what you can say and do. With last year's SOPA fiasco, millions of people were up in arms over the censorship of the internet. While the government is not censoring millions at once, they are putting the hush-hush on those who speak ill of particular people. What is truly interesting is that information requested from Google by the government is frequently done on top of the censorship.
With millions of American citizen's on the internet and surfing social media platforms, our lives are an application away from our government's prying eyes. I am not a Conspiracy Theorist or some nut on the street corner declaring Armageddon but is there any reason why the government has the right to pry into my business? This goes way beyond the social media marketing strategies of Facebook. Should a company know what kind of cereal I want to eat jut because of my likes on Facebook? It is not going to kill me either way so I don't really care but, I have a problem with Uncle Sam looking into my past history and creeping over my shoulder at all times.
Should the actions of the government spying on its citizens be attached to the resume of the Homeland Security Agents? Is our freedom really in such jeopardy that my government has to know everything that I am doing? Maybe they are not spying on me. Maybe they have absolutely no interest in me. But they have an interest in my neighbor; your neighbor; you. Is it ok then? How free is my freedom when all you have to do is Google me?