Be Careful

Being a "virtual" organization of sorts, with our Board of Directors and staff literally scattered across the United States, interconnected by the millions of miles of fiber optic cable underneath our streets, Democracy Project is optimistic about the role technology can play towards the promotion of democracy and human dignity.

Therefore, the news by Google that they are launching a service that will enable users to save their past searches, using a login and password, could have dramatic and remarkable effect for those like myself who work with folks in Wilmington, Delaware on a near-daily basis. It also would help me leave a paper trail for my colleague Win Myers whenever I do searches on a matter relevant to our business.

However, as an attorney, and one that is skeptical of government and the court system at that, I must make each and every one of you aware that the Federal Rules of Evidence have enough holes and exceptions that in the instance that you or your business are ever brought into court for a civil or criminal matter, it is probable that your Google search activity could be subpoenaed as either admissible evidence or be brought in under the hearsay exception as a business record.