Originally posted here by Soda_Popinsky
Don't even mention Google spyware... The data mining potential they have is sickening, and if they do it already I wouldn't be suprised.
Depending on your perspective, they already do. Ad Words by Google ring a bell? Their position is, IIRC, the Ad's are generated entirely by computer, which is just looking at what you've queried and comparing it within their search engine, tweaked by their Ad division, to display results. User info is not kept or tracked, and it's a 'per search' thing.

The question is, do you believe them? Personally, I tend to. I've read a lot of the write ups and interviews about Larry and Sergey, and I think they are sincere when they say "Don't be evil" is their motto.

Yes, many people have contested this, and there is a huge potential for abuse, but it comes down to who do you choose to trust, and why? Even paranoids have enemies, but the worst of conspiracies have a positive goal (even if its only positive from their own point of view.)