Today’s email from Sedo about the disclosure of personal data, including name, address, etc. to “business partners” reminded me that there seems to be a misconception about privacy on the Internet.
While it is true that one is giving up a lot of private information the moment they function in a public manner, this doesn’t mean that they are willing to volunteer that information.
In the case of a business relationship, the amount of information that is shared among partnerships can become an aggregate weapon in the hands of a monopolistic competitor.
When Google offers services for free, such as email, web space, calendars, Internet access – you are, in fact, the product.
Then, one day, Google asked for my bank account info to submit its AdSense payments to.”Asked” is a euphemism; it actually demanded that I give it to them. I promptly canceled my AdSense account.
If you are in the US, there is no option to receive checks any longer. This isn’t a matter of convenience, it’s exactly because Google can demand this information from you in the US.
They cannot do that in Europe.
In a similar fashion, I doubt that Sedo can demand this type of information from European domainers. It’s a direct violation of privacy laws that have strong roots in Europe – the way that it should have been in the US. Instead, we appear to be stunned by news of private communications being surrendered to government entities without a due process.
I thought that removing my domain portfolio from Sedo in October was enough; now, I will have to opt out of this stupid Google requirement and close my Sedo account completely.
Wouldn’t this just be for parking income which is nothing regardless, I was thinking of opting out, and still keeping non godaddy names listed for sale there?
Excellent post. 2013 is the year of privacy awareness. Either people deal with it now or they deserve what they get if they don’t. Lot’s of people are moving over to Linux based operating systems like Mint and using non tracking search engines like DuckDuckGo. After using google for a long time it was strange using DuckDuckGo at first but after awhile you get comfortable with the clean relevant search results you get when using it.
I thought I was alone in noticing the “SHIFT”.
Google Sedo, all have banned me because they don’t see any business worth from dealing with me. In 20 years time you will all be owned by Googleplex. Thats why I chose to forget fighting Google alone and allied myself with someone who has a chance @ beating Google to a stalemate… Facebook.
Its a Titan vs Olympus battle and I am going to invest my money and time into property and put my sites with Facebook pages. Atleast Facebook is honest that they will share your privacy with everyone. Google lies! All the time!
Aren’t you parking your domains at Domain Name Sales now? Are you going to stop parking your domains with them because of this?
I agree this is the year of privacy but you may want to take a look at this.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505124_162-57590860/
Ron – That appears to be an option, unless Sedo requires compliance to the new parking rules in order to maintain an account there.
michele – I would not support Duck Duck Go. It’s run by the same individuals that in 2009 created a Firefox plugin to block 42 million parked domains as “garbage” and “useless.” I don’t want someone’s personal agenda to dictate how I do business.
Andrew – DNS is not a US company. Unlike Sedo, their relationship with Google is different. Sedo would provide far too more information to Google and others, if asked to. There’s a difference between requesting info and demanding it.
Bob – It’s an ongoing battle in Europe but Google complies eventually with privacy laws. They can’t lobby as strongly as in the US. The funny part is the whole Google is “not evil” mentality. Microsoft is an angel in comparison.
Google, IMO, is a creepy entity that has a freakish amount of power over how most of us do business. I get heart pains if I think about them for too long (maybe I should sue). But I’ve been wondering about and waiting for alternatives for years. Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about Bing. Could someone discuss Bing and their claims of being a legit competitor of Googs?