Authors and publishers spur rejection of Google Book Search settlement

A group of authors and publishers, represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Samuelson Law, Technology, and Public Policy Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Samuelson clinic), filed an objection last week to the proposed Google Book Search lawsuit settlement. The coalition of more than two dozen authors and publishers, is concerned that Google’s collection of personally identifiable information will deter readers form search and reading content online. Said EFF,

Google’s system could monitor what books users search for, how much of the books they read, and how long they spend on various pages. Google could then combine information about readers’ habits and interests with additional information it collects from other Google services, creating a massive “digital dossier” that would be vulnerable to fishing expeditions by law enforcement or civil litigants.”

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