Googling People To Find Out About Them Should Be Illegal

So get this. My girlfriend looks me up on Google last night and decides I'm LYING...and this is why:

The information she finds says I live in a two story house...that house does exist...but guess who lives there? My parents. I haven't lived with them since 2007. It's obvious that if you find out information about people on Google it's GOING to be a blatant lie...and well I do not support democracy as a government in any way, shape or form, I do believe a law should be passed making people's personal information on Google an invasion of privacy.

Unless you're a wanted criminal it shouldn't be allowed. 99.999% of the time it's probably going to be a lie. And the fact that there is falsified information about ME out there is proof of that.

Discuss. And I am in a VERY bad mood because I just had a literal heart attack and might need to get looked at so any comments about "Stop whining" or "don't be a pansy" keep it to yourself. I am NOT afraid to get a temporary ban and put anyone who gets smart with me in their place.

So go ahead. Discuss...should it be considered an invasion of privacy to Google people when 99.999% of the time the information is going to be false?

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

Not to mention that it seems that lying about yourself on the internet is a thing of the past here in the 21st century. I mean, everyone I've ever meet has been honest...and somehow proven it too.

 

First and foremost, I'm not sure how such a ban would be possible. You would have to limit all search engines, not just Google (and I'm pretty sure there are a lot of them). Not only that, but what about other sites that contain information about people? Like some mass address book website that just holds addresses, names, and things like that. Maybe I could Google for that website, and then use that website's own search feature. Or if I already knew the website URL, skip right to the second part of the last sentence.
Now, if you want to ban websites from storing people's information, that's a slightly different story. But nonetheless, not much of a better one. What about sites like Facebook? People voluntarily put their own information on websites like that.
Oh, and then, would it be illegal to Facebook somebody or something? Because, in a way, that's kind of like searching for a person's information.
Although you have my sympathy, and I'm not trying to be condescending or anything, I just don't know if there's any realistic solution.
A small clarification: I believe your information was dated, not falsified in this case. You said it WAS true, but essentially not anymore. Therefore, I don't see the information as a "lie" quite as much. It's just unfortunate that the data was misinterpreted into something that wasn't true. Falsified would be if it said you lived in some 20-story mansion or something (assuming you don't, never did, and never will).
And I don't exactly understand your story... What did she think you were lying about? Has she not seen your house or something? And if not, forgive my bewilderment, but how did that become a big deal?

 

Why would there be any information on you if someone didn't put the said information in the first place? How did that end up on your GF's hands?

 

My advice, dump the hoe & get a more intelligent woman

Just because she read that you used to live somewhere else she thinks you're lying? Wait... did she even read the part that you once lived there?

Oh by the way, may I pry a little bit on your personal life? How long have you & your girlfriend been together? Has she already met your parents? That last question may be a bit weird for you, but in some cultures it is customary for couples in a relationship to get to know each party's relatives especially if they've been going steady for quite some time. However, things are different elsewhere so such circumstances as you're facing right now could happen.

And where did she read up information about you, on Facebook? If it was on Facebook where she got the goods on you, then there is a setting on Facebook that makes it so your profile information can only be read by people you have added as friends & this privacy setting even works on search engines such as Google.

 

She spent a good hour insisting that I was the liar and the internet was telling the truth. Apparently after I went to bed she looked up info on me on Google (even though we've been together for three years now) and saw that one of the last registered addresses for me was the one my parents were at and then left me a text saying "We need to talk. You've been lying to me and you need to explain."

That's why she thought I was lying. And it lasted for a quite a while.

 

This might be leaning away from the original intended topic, but it sounds more like she had a lapse in judgment. If you've been together three years (even if that's rounding up/approximate or something) and she trusts the internet more than you, although Google enabled her to get the incorrect information, I don't think that's really the source of the problem...
For instance, if she were arguing with you and went to a friend of yours and asked them, and got bad information (intentional or not), I feel as though it'd pretty much end up the same.
Anyway, think about it. This "friend" metaphor can pretty much extend to any case like this. If the internet provides misinformation, it's really no different from a friend who knows you to some degree providing the same misinformation. You could then try to outlaw misinformation, except that there are already slander and libel laws, and unintentional misinformation isn't punishable by law for good reason.

 

Well, it's not technically a lie if you lived there at some point in your life, right? The information isn't inaccurate so much as it's outdated.

The problem with making a law for that sort of thing is that most of the time, people willingly post their information up on the internet in the first place. You can't really fault Google for doing what they do best and putting everything they possibly can into their search engine. It's why they're considered one of the best(if not the best overall) in that regard.

I'd say the problem isn't the system so much, rather it's that your girlfriend has some trust issues and you should either sit her down and sort that out or kick her ass to the curb. It's your call on that matter though.