Judge grants DOJ just part of Google data sought
<span class="a2"><b class="dr">just in</b></span> Judge denies request for search queries of Google users, but orders company to provide sample of 50,000 Web addresses.
just in As expected, the judge hearing the Justice Department's request for access to Google search data has given the government only part of what it was seeking.
U.S. District Judge James Ware on Friday denied the government's request for search queries of Google users but ordered the company to provide a random sample of 50,000 Web addresses from its index. He indicated that this would be his ruling in a hearing on Tuesday. The government initially had been seeking a random sampling of 1 million user search queries and 1 million Web addresses from Google's search index, but it narrowed that number down.
The judge's order also said that Google "shall not be required to disclose proprietary information with respect to its database" and ordered the government to pay Google a "reasonable cost" for extracting the Web addresses. The Justice Department says it needs the data to help defend a controversial measure designed to hold Web sites liable if minors can access pornography on them.
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