In an otherwise innocuous story about the famed Google cooking crew (amazing this stuff gets coverage) , CNET reporter Elinor Mills writes,
Google could not be immediately reached for comment. (Google representatives have instituted a policy of not talking with CNET News.com reporters until July 2006 in response to privacy issues raised by a previous story.)
That previous story was a hard-hitting look at Google's alleged ability to collect and store confidential data from its users. Following the story, CNET ran an important correction:
The original article incorrectly implied that Google Desktop Search can track what's stored on a user's PC. The service does not expose a user's content to Google or anyone else without the user's explicit permission.
Was this the cause of Google's anti-CNET policy? And does this mean that CNET will be forced to report on safer subjects, such as the sample Google menu featured on a company blog and in Elinor's last story ( "Ahi Tuna & Avocado Poke, Calypso Rice Salad, Roasted Pork Loin and Hazelnut Shortcakes with Plum Compote")?
See the thread on Slashdot.
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