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Google's RFP response didn't lay a clear blueprint for an intrusive service, but the city deserved to know more about the
plan, Ozer said. She still isn't sure users would be sufficiently protected. Although there are ways to avoid data collection,
most consumers won't figure them out on their own, she said.
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Danny O'Brien, activism coordinator at the EFF, doesn't think the critics can take credit for a change in Google's approach,
but neither does he see much reason to celebrate. The company's plans could change, so any safeguards would have to be built
in to the contract, he said. And no matter what the company does with user information, it could become a "honeypot" attracting
government investigators, raising the specter of intrusions like the illegal wiretapping EFF alleges AT&T conducted for the National Security Agency, O'Brien said.
The ACLU's Ozer believes the rancorous debate could have a happy ending.
"What's happening in San Francisco has the opportunity to be a positive model for the rest of the country," Ozer said. "Systems
that are economically viable and have protections for privacy and free speech are not mutually exclusive."
The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.
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