Shropshire Star comment: It’s time to keep tabs on Big Brother

Sex, age, hobbies, career interests, relationship status and more can be deduced by the web giant, which profits from such information. It is able to sell advertising space by profiling its users, targeting us for domestic goods, insurance policies and more.

There will be a number of people who are already aware of such practices. Others, however, will be surprised. They will have imagined that they’ll have browsed the web in anonymity, without leaving an e-trail back to their doorstep. They could not be more wrong.

The way in which Google uses our data does not mirror the unsavoury manner in which Facebook data has been used by companies who seem not to have behaved ethically.

There is a clear separation between the nefarious activities of some and the transparent-if-you-read-the-small-print policies of Google. Of course, it is hardly surprising that a commercial company seeks to profit from the services it provides. That is the very nature of capitalism and in our technological age, Google is one of the world’s most successful businesses.

Private

Perhaps the more interesting fact is that people can opt to keep some of their data private should they wish to do so. By using Google’s controls, they can avoid being monitored every time they use the internet or pick up their mobile phone.

The activities of such giant companies of Google and Facebook do raise issues regarding regulation. We are moving ever further into an Age of Information in which other companies are able to observe our behaviour and store our data, frequently without our knowledge. And it is for Government and other regulators to keep on top of their activities to make sure they behave ethically and transparently.

We ought not to allow internet giants to run away with data that can be highly profitable. There ought to be proper balances and checks on their behaviour and safeguards for those who need them. As consumers, we also ought to be more savvy in our expectations of such companies as Google and Facebook.

The maxim that there’s no such thing as a free meal might be easily changed to there’s no such thing as a free browse.