Google To Index Facebook Comments As Search Results

November 3, 2011 11:27 AM

(credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

Filed under

News, Tech

Related tags

Comments, Facebook, Google, Privacy, Users

Top Features

YourDay for iPhone and Android

CBSLA Text Alerts

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — If you’re finding it tough to stay off of Facebook, you may soon find it even harder to keep your words off of Google.

The Internet’s most popular — and powerful — search engine will soon expand its search index to include user comments on Facebook as part of Google’s traditional search results.

While private users will still be protected, any comments made on Facebook forms on other websites or public pages within the social networking site will be indexed and open for all the world to see.

The controversial change comes as Google looks to expand its reach to any user content currently hiding from its all-seeing search robots — usually in comment systems like the one used on Facebook and other popular sites.

While Google has pledged to take “precautions to avoid performing any task on a site that could result in executing an unintended user action,” not everyone is cheering its latest indexing tool.

Developers are concerned that the new effort could disrupt confidence for users who may feel uncomfortable leaving comments on their respective websites without revealing them to Google — and the rest of the Web community.

Google To Index Facebook Comments As Search Results

TeaRunner

Hello Bing,

Goodbye Facebook.

T. DIDDY

Startpage.com is the answer.

Bing is owned by Microsoft who is owned by Bill Gates who loves spying on you as much as google and Facebook.

Startpage searches Google for you with a proxy IP address. ITS GREAT.

Ed Miller

EXACTLY!
keith

Kind of. You do realize of course that a proxy logs everything too….right?
George

BS
Lex

startpage com
keith

Just an FYI,

Squid is the most common proxy server that you will find on the internet, and yes, they do log quite a bit of data including your original IP address and all of the content you have pulled, including the search terms you use on any search engine. I run my own proxy accessed through an SSH tunnel for a variety of reasons. Example log entry from a cache server.:

1319824453.953 4 192.168.0.213 TCP_MEM_HIT/200 5219 GET http://a57.foxnews.com/www.foxnews.com/ucat/images/121/91/293510_121_Popcorn.jpg – NONE/- image/jpeg

192.168.0.213 is the originating IP address — the box that requested the web page. An internal machine on my network in this case. TCP_MEM_HIT means it was able to find the image in the cache. The URL is an image that made up just one image of content on a web page.

So when folks say “BS and private”, “private” depends on who runs the proxy. You can still see exactly who asked for which web page. Nothing is anonymous on the internet.

stop I want to get off

Goodbye internet.

Hello Library.

Dustin

Whats a library?
JS

Amen! I’m going to open a lending library. It will use card catalogs and it will have, gulp, books instead of being a movie rental outlet (eliminating the need to hire a police force for security b/c movie rentals bring in the riff raff). Computers could be used in place of humans, but the hidden costs to the rest of my fellow humans, the cost of building and exposing of the computers, maintaining them, up dating them… is too much, especially when there only cause for existence is us needing to keep up with the Jones’. I’m not a Luddite, these tools have their uses; but 99.4 percent of the time, they’re just unnecessary bells and whistles to make the 1% richer.

ixquick.com 4 me

ixquick.com is the web’s most private search engine. They don’t “filter” the results, log your ip address, record your data, or plant tracking cookies. It has worked well for me.

Patriotgrunt

+1. The only one on the net. No logs No cookies No nothing
Karen

Thanks. I just deleted a whole bunch of FB comments and tried ixquick.com.

Google and Facebook are so wrong and so un-American. We have a right to privacy.

We can vote with a secret ballot. I am not posting public comments on Facebook anymore.

Carol

Will they include blog, or article, of subscribers’, who pay to access articles and periodicals?Or are they simply going to log comments detached from what inspired them? If Google logs and gives access to comments, will it just open the article which inspired comment for free?
NVRAT

I agree TeaRunner.

Hello BING.
Michael Laney

Google has gotten too big for it’s pants!

bobbyv

they don’t wear pants, they wear skirts

http://gop-insider.com/2011/11/03/google-to-index-facebook-comments-as-search-results-%c2%ab-cbs-los-angeles/ Google To Index Facebook Comments As Search Results « CBS Los Angeles « GOP-Insider

[...] Google To Index Facebook Comments As Search Results « CBS Los Angeles. [...]
Michael Laney

Boycott Google!….use any other search engine!

Karen

I rarely used google – just to compare search results with my favorite search engine. I boycotted google because of the recent youtube decision. I just tried ixquick.com but my normal search engine is dogpile.com. It has been consistently ranked the best.

TJP

If you post a public comment, it’s a public comment. I don’t see how it really makes any difference whether it’s viewable by 1/6 of the world population or the entire world population. If you’re -that- worried about privacy, you shouldn’t be on social networking sites in the first place. That having been said, I kind of liked the idea of Facebook and Google being at war with each other, it provided some measure of balance. Where’s that balance now? Bing doesn’t really have much chance of making a dent, given that it’s run by Microsoft and the same people who dislike Google probably dislike Microsoft at least as much.

Carter

You haven’t a clue.
James Stephens

Baaa baaa typical sheep response
Donn M Searle

TJP is correct. If you’re concerned about a comment you made on the internet, you shouldn’t have made the comment. Look before you leap.
Cogito ergo sum

I agree that you shouldn’t expect any privacy on the internet. I don’t trust Facebook or Google period. If you don’t want people to know about your personal life, then don’t have a Facebook page, it’s pretty simple. These companies do not care about your privacy, your privacy is for sale once you create a Facebook page. Our society has become so narcissistic and trivial that posting the innermost details of one’s personal life is not only the norm, it’s expected. People look at me like I have 3 heads when I say I don’t use social networking sites. It’s seems pointless and shallow to me to live vicariously through a computer. These corporations are lacking in ethics if your personal business is for sale. Please reconsider trusting these corporations with your information, it’s really not worth it. You can always call your friends on the phone, Facebook isn’t as important our egocentric society makes it out to be..
Karen

I don’t want it indexed by my name TJP. That’s the issue for me. Because I used to work for a union, my salary for several years was online. If someone really wanted to know, they had to log on to the Dept of Labor’s website. Then some republisher dowloaded the DOL data into their database and made my salary searchable by my name and won’t take it down. He thinks it is a matter of public record. If someone wants to read Facebook comments, they should go to the Facebook page and read them, NOT look up the comments by my name or anyone’s name. Our names have nothing to do with the subject and should not be searchable that way. Google and Facebook are too nosy.

bok choi

Google is making pawns of people in a power play against Facebook. I was already dubious about Google+, but now I’m dead set against moving to Google’s new platform. It’s blatantly disrespectful.
vet451

Leaving Google will not help. Any user using Facebook will have their comment contents displayed on the web. You have to leave Facebook to prevent this from happening.

John

I am ready to leave Gmail and Facebook. I have a feeling Yahoo is no better. I do use Bing to search. Would like to get away from the Megacompanies completely. I recently read it is extremely difficult to close your FB account.

. Where do I go, What’s a good small email company?

keith

Buy a domain and have the register host your email, or better yet, run your own server.

If you don’t know how an email server works, learn some unix or linux. start with FreeBSD or OpenBSD. Sendmail is OK, qmail is better for a simple mail server. You might even learn a bit about internet security and privacy instead of blindly checking the “I agree” box.
Cogito ergo sum

Be careful when you delete your Facebook account. Deactivating and deleting are two different things and FB puts the deactivation option in a much easier place to find, so people end up only deactivating their accounts instead of deleting them. You have to click on several links to get to the deletion option. If you deactivate your page will still stay up on FB. You have to delete it to get it taken down. Research how to delete it before you do anything, just to be safe.

http://revoltofthepatriots.wordpress.com revoltofthepatriots

Big brother brought in by stealth. If you are a Google user and think you are getting free services…You are wrong. All of Google’s users are products. They monitor all of their services including Android and sell that information to the highest bidder. Boycott all of Google if you want to maintain any resemblance of privacy.
David Heath

It’s bad enough living abroad and having Google search constantly redirecting my searches to match the limited vocabulary of its headquarters staff. Now its searches will be even more meaningless.
I’m a teacher and feel especially threatened by the Chinese-style monitoring Facebook is implementing in the West. It’s all the more a threat given how it goes out of its way to invade and pervert people’s privacy. Just look at the risks in simply using Facebook to comment: Websites are permitted, without any real reason, to access your basic information including your name, “profile picture, gender, networks, user ID, list of friends and any other information I’ve shared with everyone”. It allows the site to send you unsolicited email. It can actually send any post it wants to your Wall- status messages, notes, photos, videos, etc… You have absolutely no control over the content. Worryingly is can “access my data any time” without saying exactly what data it will be accessing and for what purpose, and even “access my data when I’m not using the application.” All very useful when Facebook tries to convince the Chinese to let it be allowed to be used within that country in exchange for such valuable information and technology; just the type of behaviour fascist states need! Thank God I live in Germany that is putting a stop to this- so much for America being the land of the free…
http://tracesofevil.com
Chris

All you people who are saying boycott google.. What are you going to use? Microsoft’s ridiculous excuse for a search engine?

Yahoo?

No.

You’ll use google. Because google is the best.

John

I’ve been using Bing for several months and I haven’t noticed any difference from Google.

Yahoo uses Bing so the search results are exactly the same.

Kay

I also use Bing and like it after many years of using google.

PrivacyFanatic

I use Startpage.com.

Startpage provides actual Google results, but without Google watching and recording what you do. Startpage does not record your IP address, deletes all records of your search, doesn’t use tracking cookies, and they have a sweet proxy service. So yes, there is an alternative.

ItsGettingCrazy

This is just plain stupid.

The facebook comments that are results from a google search BETTER BE AT THE END otherwise I WILL STOP USING GOOGLE.

THE LAST THING I WANT IN A GOOGLE SEARCH IS FACEBOOK RESULTS…

CoSteve

Now that’s a really good point. Used to drive me crazy when Twitter feeds were at the top. Like I care what some random person has to say in a throw-away comment. If I wanted a story about Lindsay Lohan (unlikely tho that may be) a comment stating “Hard night out partying, look like Lindsay Lohan lol” is not something I need to pop up in a search result.

Although I suppose the name connected to a comment like that might be valuable to potential employers looking into an applicant.

Josh Hanneman

maybe we should “occupy GOOG”, no they would probably like that. funny though i dont see any of the idiots in oakland protesting google
Gene

A great alternative is Startpage, all the results and all the privacy, http://www.startpage.com. I switched after I clicked a banner ad on boycotting the South Africa world cup. The next day I searched for the site Google didn’t have it, finally I went to my history to get it. The site had been up for a year and was a forum used by over a million white people who have fled SA, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Not a little or unused site. I even put the URL into Google, it doesn’t exist. I have reasons to be interested in the collapse of modern Africa and its re-colonization by the Chinese. Its not on the TV, its not on any radio with a license, its barely on the web. The whole Western and Eastern world has good reason to cover up what is happening in these three countries, and I tried every search imaginable to confirm that Google prevents Americans from stumbling across a political website. Ever since one of their boys said “if you are concerned about privacy don’t do it” I have thought of Google as willing to be any especially our own Government’s stooge.

Happydots

Gene, I love you. All of that has floored me. Granted, I knew Google was sneaky because you can’t find certain quotes made by certain companies that were blatantly there once before and when I went back to prove a certain group said something, it was never reachable. But China in Africa…. God help us….

Happydots

Although I must point out that it is ‘enhanced’ by Google… any idea what that means?

http://lunchladylunchlady.wordpress.com Lunch Lady

Sorry, Gene–I didn’t see your Starting Page suggestion before leaving my comment, below. I heard about SP HTTPS from George Noory on Coast to Coast AM. Re your anecdote: why I’m even surprised is beyond me. I’m also appalled. Google should change its name to Uncle Sam’s Shill.
Kay

Thanks Gene I will check it out!

joel

They want people to come to Google Plus so what better way to have that happen then to chase people out of facebook. Google is a disgrace.
Jim Kress

Did you notice that StartPage has announced (and posted on its front page) that it is “enhanced” by Google?

So much for the “privacy” argument.

Happydots

Jim, I just commented on that in one of the above comments. I thought the same thing you did.

Al

Use Smart Page!!!! they don’t record you IP address!!!

Nobody Knows

They don’t have to. Their ISP does it for them. Just need a timestamp to discern who hit the site, when.

CoSteve

Who cares? Looks like only public comments are effected, which are, as the name states, already public comments. Those visible only to certain groups will still be visible only to those certain groups – because Google can’t see them either, much less index them.

Sara Bellum

CoSteve, what makes you think Gaagle “can’t see or index” Anything it decides to that is posted on facebook??

Fupp Duck

This says that PUBLIC comments will be included and PRIVATE users will not. Don’t blame Facebook if you haven’t secured your settings and you post everything as public. If you don’t want Google to index your comments, change your settings.
http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/science-tech/66300-google-index-facebook-comments-search.html#post1421134 Google To Index Facebook Comments As Search Results – SLUniverse Forums

[...] [...]
Ryan

I’m all for it. I’ve been reading Democrat hate speech, threats, insults and sick perverted Facebook writings for years. Finally, we employers, will be able to find and filter out those vermin that will ruin our companies. All the blabber mouths will finally have their day. You can try and delete, but Google will bring it back as a cached repeat. Resist we much. Success it not.
http://lunchladylunchlady.wordpress.com Lunch Lady

Search “Starting Page by iXquick and add it to your list of search engines.” Starting Page HTTPS bring up all the same Google results but you can read them without being tracked or click directly on the result to be tracked. Your choice. And at least you’ll take tons of business away from Google. I’m starting to wonder if they aren’t part of the NWO. Anyway, eff them. Use Starting Page Https. (And NO, I have absolutely no financial interest in Starting Page, other than the same one you have. Heard about them on Coast to Coast AM radio show. I think Katherine Austin Fitts has something to do with it. She’s a consumer advocate.)

You’re welcome!

TheTruthShallSetYouFree

Looks like a bunch of aliases being used to shill for “Startpage”. If you don’t want your public comments read by the public don’t post them to the public. It doesn’t matter what search engine is used to find your publicly posted comments. It only matters if you posted something you will be ashamed of later. Moral of the story is the internet never forgets so be sure you really want to say what you post or be prepared to face the consequences when that rant you posted when you were 15 years old comes back to bite you in the ass when it shows up on your employer’s background check. Live by your convictions and you will always be free to say what you want but post stupid, hateful, comments and you will always have to fear being found out.

Gen

it’s already tough enough to get results sometimes, I just don’t see the need for it? Why on earth would I want to read a strangers comments on a random post when I look for my son’s butt rash or a new recipe????
Fanny Forbes Franklen

“Doctors destroy health,
lawyers destroy justice,
psychiatrists destroy minds,
scientists destroy truth,
major media destroys information,
religions destroy spirituality and
governments destroy freedom.” ~ Michael Ellner

Now Google joins the list … http://911essentials.com