by CIO Staff

Google Formally Rejects DOJ Subpoena for Search Records

News
Feb 21, 20062 mins
Government

Over the weekend, Google filed documents in response to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) January subpoena for a week’s worth of search records, formally rejecting the request, BBC News reports.

Google previously stated that it would not comply, but its refusal was not official until the documents were filed last weekend, BBC News reports.

Within the documents, Google said that compliance with the DOJ subpoena would put the privacy of its users at risk and could potentially expose trade secrets to its competitors, according to BBC News.

The 25-page response also states that disclosure of Google’s search records would not help the government to better understand its users’ habits, BBC News reports.

Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union filed documents in supports of Google’s refusal.

“This subpoena is the latest example of government overreaching, in which the government apparently believes it can demand that private entities turn over all sorts of information about their customers just because the government asserts that it needs the information,” documents filed by the ACLU read, according to BBC News.

For more background, read Google Subpoena Hearing Postponed and Google Lawsuit to be Heard in February.

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