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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 6173000" data-attributes="member: 177">Not a lawyer, but in a technical sense, I think you may be incorrect.&nbsp; Item #1 depends upon unique identifiers.&nbsp; That's something rather specific in computer parlance, and rather easy for Google to *not* do, so I suspect they are not stupid enough to do it.#2 depends upon them obtaining uniquely identifiable health information relating to an individual.&nbsp; Google *doesn't* do that.&nbsp; Google does not determine you have a bladder control issue, and then say you need to see ads for catheters.&nbsp; They merely note that the word &quot;catheter&quot; has shown up in your e-mails, so they guess you might be interested in them, and show you ads for them.&nbsp; Maybe you have a bladder control issue, maybe your grandpa does.&nbsp; Maybe your cat does.&nbsp; Maybe you're a medical student asking about draining abdominal abscesses.&nbsp; Google does not know and does not care.&nbsp; Google doesn't take your health information.&nbsp; They may take guesses at your interest in health products, which isn't the same thing.#3 is about disclosing personally identifiable health information to others.&nbsp; Google doesn't tell advertisers who it showed ads to, specifically.&nbsp; If I recall correctly, Google doesn't tell *itself* who it showed them to.&nbsp; That sounds counter-intuitive, but it is actually not at all difficult in a technical sense.&nbsp; After showing you the ad, Google can't tell if it did so or not.&nbsp; The fact that the ad was shown to *someone* is kept, but not to whom it was shown.And, for those who are curious, you can opt out of the targeted ads in your Google privacy settings.&nbsp;&nbsp; So, I don't think Google has a legal issue here.&nbsp; What they have is a potentially massive PR issue - public opinion and the law are not strongly correlated.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 6173000, member: 177"] Not a lawyer, but in a technical sense, I think you may be incorrect. Item #1 depends upon unique identifiers. That's something rather specific in computer parlance, and rather easy for Google to *not* do, so I suspect they are not stupid enough to do it. #2 depends upon them obtaining uniquely identifiable health information relating to an individual. Google *doesn't* do that. Google does not determine you have a bladder control issue, and then say you need to see ads for catheters. They merely note that the word "catheter" has shown up in your e-mails, so they guess you might be interested in them, and show you ads for them. Maybe you have a bladder control issue, maybe your grandpa does. Maybe your cat does. Maybe you're a medical student asking about draining abdominal abscesses. Google does not know and does not care. Google doesn't take your health information. They may take guesses at your interest in health products, which isn't the same thing. #3 is about disclosing personally identifiable health information to others. Google doesn't tell advertisers who it showed ads to, specifically. If I recall correctly, Google doesn't tell *itself* who it showed them to. That sounds counter-intuitive, but it is actually not at all difficult in a technical sense. After showing you the ad, Google can't tell if it did so or not. The fact that the ad was shown to *someone* is kept, but not to whom it was shown. And, for those who are curious, you can opt out of the targeted ads in your Google privacy settings. So, I don't think Google has a legal issue here. What they have is a potentially massive PR issue - public opinion and the law are not strongly correlated. [/QUOTE]

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