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Old 12-28-2004 | 01:15 AM
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CobraJet
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From: Parker, CO
Default RE: GOOGLE USERS BEWARE

Hmmm, didn't work for me or my mom's home number. There is a bit more info about it from the [link=http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/google.htm]www.snopes.com[/link] site,

As to the issue of whether this Google feature is a shocking invasion of privacy, there are a few points to keep in mind:

This feature is not new — the PhoneBook service has been offered by Google for almost two years now.

This feature does not work for every phone number. Some classes of phone numbers, such as unpublished phone numbers (i.e., numbers belonging to customers who have requested that their local phone service providers not publish their numbers in printed phone directories or make them available through directory assistance), will not display.

The information displayed is compiled from a number of publicly accessible sources and is not unique to Google. There are many other web sources through which users can look up the same information.

Google has simply combined two different services readily available on a number of different web sites — reverse phone directory look-ups and mapping/driving directions services — into one step. Even without Google, it's a simple feat for any moderately knowledgeable web user to plug a phone number into a reverse phone directory web site to find the name and address corresponding to that number, then use an on-line service such as Mapquest to obtain directions to that address.

In short, the Google PhoneBook feature may be troubling to those who value their privacy, but it's a symptom and not a cause. The larger issue is that many entities we deal with in daily life who are privy to our personal information can make that information available to sources that compile databases which services such as Google PhoneBook use. The public has been making privacy gains through the implementation of laws such as those requiring credit bureaus, phone companies, and motor vehicle bureaus to offer "opt-out" features which provide customers with means to restrict the distribution of their personal information, but until that larger issue is completely eliminated, trying to keep one's personal information off the web is akin to engaging in a perpetual game of "Wack-a-Mole": momentarily satisfying but ultimately accomplishing nothing.