You guys are underestimating how advanced these systems are. They take everything into account, including your behavioral footprint (sites you frequent, and the patterns in which you do so, create a uniquely identifiable footprint).
VPN traffic and tor/obfuscation are specifically targeted as interesting traffic.

Yes, there is a google master console type of dealie, using all legit tech strung together into the eye of sauron.

Sounds to me everyone in town should search for Douglas, Isle of Man or Douglas Adams just to send a clear fuck you to the cops.

Obligatory:


Maybe the judge heard the request, and when he finished lauging said, "Sure, fuck it. I'm outta here in a couple months."

Hennepin County Judge.

Legality aside, is that even something Google has the ability to do? Can they just go to the Googletron2K and type in "all searches for 'Doug' from Edina between December 1 and January 7"?

It honestly wouldn't surprise me if they could (because google), but storing text, date, time, IP and MAC info from every search from every computer for all eternity seems like it would involve a galactic amount of data of largely limited value.

Yes it can be done, though the onus would be on the police to provide the range(s) of IP addresses in active service at the town, at the time. Which would only give you the people not using VPNs (or alternatively, people who are VPNing in...,) or otherwise obscuring their connection.

Or, they would have to limit themselves to searches that google can establish are from the area, such as through Google accounts/Facebook.

Google – My Activity and there is plenty more where that came from.

Looks like I locked down my activity quite some time ago, as the only thing that shows up there is my YouTube viewing history. I'll have to get myself a warrant if I want to look at the rest of the juicy deets google has on me.

What about a search from a user that wasn't logged into a google account? The police could theoretically get an IP from google, but wouldn't they need a second ISP warrant to match it to a specific household?

Same here. That's all been questionable stuff since 911. They should need a warrant, but an organization doesn't necessarily have to require one of them to provide the information.

Also, I'm sure that much like facebook, google has their own shadow profiling system available to them.

> Police request the searches for a targeted search term, within a specific time-frame, about a fraud suspect as part of an ongoing investigation.

But yeah, this is fucked up.

This is clearly the ideal way for the police to innocuously collect data to improve their product. ;)

We're getting closer and closer to Dark Knight-style surveillance.