The Minority Report

If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines — including Google — do retain this information for some time and it’s important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities.
Asa Dotzler: Firefox and more: if you have nothing to hide…

It reminds me of something Benjamin Franklin once said:

Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither.
Benjamin Franklin -- Wikiquote

While is used Google to find the quote and like Google, I’m starting to really worry about the privacy aspects of it all. This isn’t the first time that the CEO of Google has made statements like this. So I agree with Asa Dotzler that people need to be reminded that there is choice out there and that Google takes notice (like Facebook did) and make some changes.

Asa Dotzler, Mozilla’s director of community development, used his personal blog to urge Firefox users away from Google and to use Microsoft’s search engine Bing, instead. Dotzler cited privacy concerns, specifically pointing to comments recently made by Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

“I think judgment matters,” said Schmidt. “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.” Dotzler then links to the Bing add-on for Firefox, stating that Bing’s privacy policy is better than Google’s (and notably fails to mention Yahoo at all).

Schmidt was talking about laws in the US, but the way he worded his beliefs did not sit well with privacy advocates—and a whole lot of other folks—including Dotzler. Microsoft has to respect the Patriot Act and other laws just as Google does, but after seeing Schmidt’s comments, Dotzler decided that Firefox users need to be reminded of Bing’s existence.
Mozilla exec urges Firefox users ditch Google for Bing

Doing a little bit more digging, I find this story on Gawker where in 2005 CNET was blacklisted after they used Google Search to find “publicly” available information on Eric Schmidt.

The generous explanation for Schmidt’s statement is that he’s revolutionized his thinking since 2005, when he blacklisted CNET for publishing info about him gleaned from Google searches, including salary, neighborhood, hobbies and political donations. In that case, the married CEO must not mind all the coverage of his various reputed girlfriends; it’s odd he doesn’t clarify what’s going on with the widely-rumored extramarital dalliances, though.
Google CEO: Secrets Are for Filthy People -- Google -- Gawker

Below is the video of Eric Schmidt on a CNBC special, anchored by Maria Bartiromo.

Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times critiques the CNBC special on Google, which will air for the first time Thursday night, noting that the reporting by anchor Maria Bartiromo is soft during the first 12 minutes before she turns into a “real journalist.”
Talking Biz News » Skip the first 12 minutes of Bartiromo’s special on Google, watch the rest

Basically people we need to keep the pressure on. I found this quote of Bruce Schneier on Gina Trapani’s blog, Smarterware:

“…if we are observed in all matters, we are constantly under threat of correction, judgment, criticism, even plagiarism of our own uniqueness. We become children, fettered under watchful eyes, constantly fearful that — either now or in the uncertain future — patterns we leave behind will be brought back to implicate us, by whatever authority has now become focused upon our once-private and innocent acts. We lose our individuality, because everything we do is observable and recordable.” This is what you say in response to “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.” (via)
Bruce Schneier’s Answer to Google CEO Eric Schmidt on Privacy | Smarterware

Here is the takeaway:

“If I’m not doing anything wrong, then you have no cause to watch me.” “Because the government gets to define what’s wrong, and they keep changing the definition.” “Because you might do something wrong with my information.” My problem with quips like these — as right as they are — is that they accept the premise that privacy is about hiding a wrong. It’s not. Privacy is an inherent human right, and a requirement for maintaining the human condition with dignity and respect.
The Eternal Value of Privacy