"Google Me" - Possible Facebook Competitor from Google

I would argue that it's actually much worse than the media portrays it. :)

Some people are worried about things like getting fingerprinted when they enter the US.
Google + Facebook + ISPs + mobile phones are many times worse from a privacy standpoint than getting fingerprinted by the Government. (Especially Google's integration of all of the above.) Google just puts a nice face on it.

If all of the information is out there already, then why not let the government implant a chip in the back of your head? Or put a couple of streaming video cams in your bathroom and bedroom just to keep you safe? :)

A lot personal information is out there already, but, IMHO, the solution isn't to accept it -- people should continually fight for their right for privacy, or society will regret it later...

Now we have fingerprint scanning in pubs and clubs in Australia see this article

Shocking...

When you put it all together pretty much everybody is trackable, it is very hard to leave no fingerprint these days. I am not saying it is great, I am not saying we should put up with it, although the horse has bolted long ago.

I don't think it is too late. It's a matter of degree. E.g., not all clubs worldwide scan for fingerprints, so there is still opportunity to stop it and reverse it where it is already happening.

Society probably won't ever go back to the way it was, but to maintain the balance, I think people should continually be highly watchful and skeptical of privacy violations.

At least with a social network YOU decide what information to share, YOU have total control of the information flow, probably more so than any other means that your data is captured. The enemy is not social networks the enemy for years has been private enterprise and the government.

I think users don't know how much information they are really sharing in a social network (or the Internet in general). Especially with Google, everything you might enter into social network is instantly linked to just about every single thing you do online, your telephone number, home address, current IP address, most or all the websites you visit, photo (facial recognition via Picasa and "tagging" photos if they implement it), credit card number -- and much more...

If you use Google Mobile software or Android phones, Google can track and record your position, and possibly even detect whether you are sitting or standing at any point in time (via accelerometer). This software already exists -- companies can buy it to monitor employee's physical movements to make sure they aren't slacking. :)

Giving data to social networks (or using other similar technology) gives it to governments and corporations -- there is little difference.

The US Government already accesses the data regularly (8 million requests for cell phone GPS location data just from Sprint in a little over a year).

Google's CEO also talks about Government access here, while showing complete lack of respect for privacy.

It isn't just the USA -- you can see a longer list on international requests for user data here.

I think people just don't realize what kind of data is collected and who has access... and there is no way to know who will have access to the data in the future because the data is never going away...

I guess I'm one of the Joe Public who isn't that concerned about fingerprinting in pubs (if you don't like it, don't go - if the public vote with their feet against these measures they'll soon not use them), photos at ATMs, full body scans at airports or CCTV in public places. The fact to me is that they are largely used to catch criminals. The common complaint seems to be that we are "sleepwalking" into some form of big brother society and that eventually we'll have no freedoms. Personally I can't see it. If we did end up with a dictatorship they could implement much more draconain things in about 1 year. All the technology is already there, it's just a matter of deploying it.

Mind you, although I don't have a problem with the above, I wouldn't join a supermarket loyalty program, social network, have a mobile phone or have information about me on the internet. I value my privacy too much.

...saying if you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to fear...

Google's CEO's exact words:

[INDENT]"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."[/INDENT]

(Yet he was furious when some of his personal data was exposed on the Internet :))

I guess I'm one of the Joe Public who isn't that concerned about fingerprinting in pubs (if you don't like it, don't go - if the public vote with their feet against these measures they'll soon not use them)

I think people will typically ignore what is bad for them if the carrot on the stick looks tasty enough :)

The fact to me is that they are largely used to catch criminals.

...but have also already been used to stifle legal and peaceful political expression and we haven't reached a potential "worst-case scenario" yet...

There is no way to know who might control the data in the future.

If it's okay to be fingerprinted on the way to have a beer at the pub, why not just submit to "the chip" like this? It's less of a hassle :)

I think that if no one speaks up about it, young people growing up in a technology-based society won't know where the privacy line should be drawn...