Feds want Google search records

The Bush administration on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order Google Inc. to turn over a broad range of material from its closely guarded databases...Nicole Wong, an associate general counsel for Google, said the company will fight the government's effort "vigorously.''

Gonzales v. Google, Inc. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion in federal court seeking a court order that would compel search engine company Google, Inc. to turn over “a multi-stage random sample of one million URL’s” from Google’s database, and a computer file with “the text of each search string entered onto Google’s search engine over a one-week period (absent any information identifying the person who entered such query.”

If that paragraph above does not raise the hairs on your neck, I suggest you re-read the first amendment to the Constitution. What are they thinking? This is no way to survey porn use.[Peter S. Kastner]

Go Google Go!
But, this is one of the reasons I don't have google desktop installed, if its not available, there's nothing to search....

--MissM

Update: Yahoo caved in to the record request.
America, United States, Sunday Times Yahoo has admitted that it granted the US Government access to its search engine's databases this summer, as a battle develops over the right to privacy in cyberspace.
Update2: The reason for the request was :

The lawsuit is the government's attempt to revive the 1998 Child Online Protection Act (COPA) which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court on grounds it violated the First Amendment. COPA was enacted by Congress with the aim of protecting minors from potentially harmful effects of sexually explicit material on the Internet. (Courtesy of CNN.com

It occurs to me (and I apologize if its not techie enough for you) that they aren't even trying to prosecute anybody, just eliminate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.