Google Launches Feature to Protect Search from Spying
During the press doldrums of Friday afternoon, Google announced that users can now use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption to protect their searches from spying by unsavory third parties. While this new feature didn’t make the same waves as Google TV and the new Android platform update Froyo, the product launch is an important statement by the company that it recognizes the sensitivity of many of the searches carried out by its flagship product. Google’s decision to enable encrypted search is also a shining embodiment of the concept of Privacy by Design.
Google released encrypted search only four months after it made encrypted email sessions the default for all Gmail users, and just two months after FTC Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour called on all Internet companies to incorporate SSL encryption into their products. These changes also come on the heels of Google’s revelation that unknown hackers are targeting the Gmail accounts of human rights activists doing work on China. In all, these changes show a maturing recognition that many everyday uses of an online service can pose serious risks to a company’s customers, not only to their privacy but also a range of other human rights. Google’s decisions demonstrate that companies have the ability to make proactive choices that can help mitigate the privacy and human rights risk their products raise for their users. As human rights defenders and ordinary citizens increasingly engage online, we urge other companies to follow this example.
So how can you encrypt a Google search? Simply go to https://www.google.com and type away. You’ll know you’re using encrypted search when you see the blue lock icon above the Google logo. Right now, encrypted search is only possible on Google.com (and not on, say, Google.fr), although non-English speaking users can always change the language on Google.com. Encrypted search will let you peruse books, videos, and blogs; images and maps have yet to be enabled, so return to http://www.google.com to perform an unencrypted search of those.
