EFF Sues DOJ Over Google

The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is suing the DOJ (Department of Justice) over its contact with Google, Inc. via a DOJ employee who now works for Google. The Department of Justice employee, Jane Horvath, was sympathetic with Google's privacy concerns while the Internet giant was fighting a subpoena requesting search engine data.

The initial request was finally restricted to a limited number of search engine requests (only 5,000 as opposed to unlimited requests). The courts determined at the time that the initial unrestricted request was a violation of privacy for Google users and nothing more than a fishing expedition for the Department of Justice.

The EFF seems to be rigorously pushing their lawsuit requesting copies of all communication between Horvath and Google during the time she was at the Department of Justice. It seems they filed their initial FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request while Horvath was still in the employ of the Department of Justice and the records were never released. The EFF claims that the lawsuit was filed after a complete lack of response from the DOJ.

Even though the courts came down in favor of Internet privacy, something the EFF values, they are mainly concerned with ethics then and in the future. Getting a look at the conversations would help them determine if any behind the scenes deals were made. It will also give them a glimpse into Google's future plans with Horvath on board.

As for the DOJ role in things, not releasing the FOIA requested documents looks suspicious. It makes the DOJ appear that they have something to hide, even if they don't. nothing waves a red flag in front of the EFF like dragging your heels on a perfectly normal FOIA request that has no implications on such things as National Security.

How far do you think the EFF should take this lawsuit? Are the ethical implications enough to pursue it full steam ahead, or should they drop it if they finally get the FOIA requested communications documentation? Do you see the initial communication between Horvath and Google, followed by her employment at Google later on, as cause for concern? Many do.