You’re a 16-year-old Muslim kid in America. Say your name is Mohammad Abdullah. Your schoolmates are convinced that you’re a terrorist. They keep typing in Google queries likes “is Mohammad Abdullah a terrorist?†and “Mohammad Abdullah al Qaeda.†Google’s search engine learns. All of a sudden, auto-complete starts suggesting terms like “Al Qaeda†as the next term in relation to your name. You know that colleges are looking up your name and you’re afraid of the impression that they might get based on that auto-complete. You are already getting hostile comments in your hometown, a decidedly anti-Muslim environment. You know that you have nothing to do with Al Qaeda, but Google gives the impression that you do. And people are drawing that conclusion. You write to Google but nothing comes of it. What do you do?
Google has just launched a new trivia game – A Google a Day – to the delight and perhaps even to the dismay of trivia lovers. Normally, when you quiz someone about their knowledge of historical facts, literary figures, capitals, sports champions, and other minutiae, the rules are “no cheating.” No looking up the answer in books. And certainly no Googling.
But the Google a Day puzzle encourages you to do just that,use the search engine to find the answer.
Federal Judge Denny Chin ended his thirteen-month consideration of the case and ruled most emphatically against Google, saying the settlement would have made the company a “de facto monopoly.â€
Does this matter to you? Is Google your (only) search tool of choice?
Google won’t autocomplete searches for “bittorrent,” but if you are interesting in learning how to kidnap someone, make meth, build a bomb, cheat on your taxes, or shoplift, they will happily autocomplete your search for you.
