Chris_R - 8:54 pm on Jan 20, 2006 (gmt 0)

>>Google is a US based company, but the information they collect is world wide. Would this not be a possible infringement of privacy laws in other countries? Countries like China, UK, Russia, and so on.

While I am pretty sure the answer would be no about China and Russia - the UK and EU could be a different story.

This can be tricky and sometimes SEs run against similar situations with conflicts in laws.

Google will follow what the courts tell them If a US court orders them to hand over the data - there is nothing they can do except appeal it - and then assuming they lose - then they will have to hand over the data.

I find it hard to believe any law in another country would hold Google liable for something that is beyond their control.