Poll: Internet search history a private matter

Most Americans are uncomfortable with the fact that Internet search engines record their users’ queries, according to a survey released last week that examined perceptions about federal authorities’ demands for such records.

Search engine companies recently sparked the debate by responding differently to the Justice Department’s subpoena for records on what their users had been looking up.

Google Inc. refused to comply, citing privacy along with a desire to protect its trade secrets. But Yahoo Inc. and other rivals have handed over their data, which the government wants to help defend the 1998 Child Online Protection Act.

Equally contentious, however, is whether the search engine providers even should be storing such records.

In the new survey of 800 Americans by the University of Connecticut, 60 percent said they opposed the storage of users’ search queries. Just 32 percent supported the practice, which the companies say is necessary to improve the performance of their services.

Similarly, when asked whether the government should monitor the Internet search behavior of “ordinary Americans,” 65 percent said no and 30 percent said yes.

Apparently, even some opponents of having these records stored and mined believe that the subpoena ought to be followed. Some 44 percent of all respondents said the records should be turned over. Half sided with Google and said the files should remain secret.

EU proposes European tech institute

The European Union wants to create a rival to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reflecting fears that academic standards are slipping and Europe will no longer be able to compete globally.

A European Institute of Technology should be a “flagship of excellence in higher education, research and innovation,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who presented the plans Wednesday with Jan Figel, the EU’s education commissioner.

Envisioned is a central governing body in charge of finances and research strategy, and a number of so-called knowledge communities — research and education centers dispersed around the EU. It would be up to the member states to decide where the institute and the centers would be.