Internet privacy has become a major issue in today’s society, with technology advancing leaps and bounds faster than laws created by our government. Many companies are now creating policies that are seen as crossing the line. Google’s policies are becoming even more argued and discussed than any other. Many believe that Google is infringing on the rights of both individuals and countries as a whole. The interpretation of these policies, in the legal realm, is very misunderstood and seen as muddy water. Google says that collecting information from its customers, is necessary to better serve, both, it users and advertisers.
A wide range of industries have the possibility of being affected with the privacy policy changes of Google, including healthcare, research, education and many more. Information collected by Google comes from nearly all of their services, including, Google Health, which is a service that allows health records to be shared amongst medical professionals and the patient. Google Health, takes the patients personal health record (PHR) and uploads it to a data base, which is easily accessed. This service can expedite health services, but is also seen as a privacy risk. According to Colin P. McCarthy of the William and Merry Law Review, “There is concern that PHR venders, such as Google and Microsoft, are not governed by the strict privacy and security rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA) and are held to no other standard in safeguarding patient data stored on their servers.”(2) McCarthy continued to describe what requirements hospitals and other health organizations must meet to to hold PHR’s and PHI’s. He stated, “As can be seen from the preceding summary of the HIPAA Security Rule, covered entities, such as hospitals, are under strict regulation in regard to their duty to protect PHI. Not only