Is Google a hero or Big Brother?

Your Jan. 22 editorial, “A tangled Web,” was far too kind to Google. Google is the real Big Brother, the real villain, because it is amassing such a huge amount of sensitive data about its users. We assume it’s sensitive, of course, because Google is trying to keep it out of the hands of the government. Google is being evil by collecting and retaining data that intrudes on user privacy.

DONALD L. HUGHES

Hemet

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Three cheers for Google! First, for its embrace of the 1st Amendment’s free-speech stance; second, for heeding the constitutional right to privacy; and third, for running the risk of being branded as an unpatriotic, Democrat-type terrorist by Big Brother Bush.

SHELLEY MARTIN

San Pedro

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Right now, I trust Google with my private information more than the federal government.

DIANE SHIRES

Alhambra

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The thought of the government snooping through website records is not comforting.

However, the real issue is why Google, et al are tracking Web visits in the first place. For later sale, I assume. That to me is the real issue.

DONALD J. PRADO

Valencia