The shadow of Big Brother hangs on the Internet world

The computer world is boiling. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Apple: these signs feed Chronicle of global economic rivalry and compete to win the battle technologico-financial innovations. With first recipient the consumer, which takes advantage of emulation between competitors and new applications resulting. A subject, however, could put him in a dangerous situation: the risk of violation of his privacy.

The shadow of Big Brother hangs on the Internet world. Or more specifically on one of its key players: empire Google, often pinned by official bodies, the specialized media and associations for the defence of individual freedom. The dark side of its strength, this hidden algorithm which is the power of its search engine, like most of its new applications, raises ethical and legal issues unsuspected.

To take but one recent example, the firm created by Sergey Brin and Larry Page was stopped early July by the Commission for computing and liberties (CNIL) for failing to inform the users "of their rights, in accordance with the rules protecting European data", while she had just put online the first panoramic street photos French through its "street view" serviceintegrated mapping system "Maps". The blurring of faces and plates of the cars was far from perfect and the opportunity to escape his house on the other was not clearly envisaged. If Instant photos of streets with 360 can be attractive, they can also be an incentive terrifying to remotely control our least and doings, suddenly exposed to the invisible surveillance of others.

There are more worrying still, including the fact that all of our research that give rhythm to our walks on the Web are, without accountable us, jettison, kernels, stored and operated. Our name and our personal data are transported to the four corners of the world, breaking anonymity sacrificed on the altar of commercial profitability.

For this reason, Google received in March last a "Big Brother Awards for all of his work and for having placed under surveillance all of Internet users around the world", a sort of trophy awarded by an international NGO that aims to "distinguish" institutions, societies or the people who by their contempt for the right to keep private life or their promotion of the control of individuals.

This type of distinction shows the ability of consumers to mobilize to make a positive pressure on private actors. Coupled with the virtues of competition, which encourages each operator to become "best bidder" in areas where a competitor could be lightweight, free expression becomes an effective tool to stimulate self-regulation. For example it is not surprising that historical actor and big competitor of Google that is Microsoft had adopted, in July 2007, strict principles of respect for private life. It is not more surprising that it has focused part of its strategy of technical innovation and communication on the fact that its products and services guarantee a greater privacy to consumers. American organizations for the defence of privacy, such as the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, traditionally little complacent against Microsoft, also welcomed the advance made by the latter.

Even as the authorities American and European of the competition have opened an inquiry into the risks, the market of advertising online and, ultimately, for the consumer, a rapprochement between Google and Yahoo!, free creative competition appears as the best way to improve our satisfaction and safety of use of modern computer tools. The accountability of actors which is the only way to guarantee, term, genuine respect for our private lives. We in fact to act conscientiously and use our power of pressure to grow, focusing on those who respect our rights, the giants of the Internet to preserve still more at best our privacy, and our freedom.