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Government Denied Search Query Data

The court concluded that the government “demonstrated a substantial need for some information from Google in creating a set of URLs to run through filtering software.” It noted that Google has 45% of the search engine market, and that the government’s study “may be significantly hampered if it” lacks access to information “from the most often used search engine.” However, the court found that the government had failed to demonstrate a substantial need for both a sample of URLs and the set of search queries.

Citing the “Government’s general statements of purpose,” the court stated that the URL sample and the set of search queries both “are aimed at providing a list of URLs which will be categorized and run through the filtering software in an effort to determine the effectiveness of filtering software as to certain categories.” According to the court, this very “similarity . . . in their presumed utility" suggests that the government's requests are "unreasonably cumulative and duplicative.”

As the government failed to express a preference for which data set it preferred, the court chose for it. Having already held that the government's request for search query data would impose a "marginal burden" on Google due to the loss of user trust, the choice was easy. Even this "marginal burden" could not be outweighed by a request calling for information whose benefit is cumulative and duplicative. The thus granted the government’s motion to compel only as to the sample of 50,000 URLs from Google’s search index, denying the government the search query data.

No Rulings on Privacy Concerns, Applicability of Electronic Communications Privacy Act

Judge Ware, sua sponte, raised concerns about the privacy of Google’s users, but made no rulings on the issue. The court observed that personal, sensitive information could be included in the search queries themselves, particularly if users search to see if their own identifying information is available on the Internet. However, having already ruled against the government regarding its request for search query data, Judge Ware declined to “express an opinion on this issue.”

The court also declined to opine on the applicability of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. It nevertheless noted that this statute “does not bar the Government’s request for [sic] sample of 50,000 URLs from Google’s index through civil subpoena.”

Read the final part of this post here.