Be careful what you do on Orkut, Google may not be willing to protect your privacy, depending on where you live. On Monday Google revealed that it complied with Indian legal processes when handing over information about an Orkut user to Indian police.
By supplying the IP address of an individual who is alleged to have posted vulgar content about top Indian political leader Sonia Gandhia, Indian police were able to arrest a suspect.
Google says that the support free expression of users, and that the company is committed to protecting user privacy. However, Google must comply with local laws and valid legal processes.
In India, it is not uncommon for law enforcement to call upon the likes of Google and other internet companies to supply them with information on users that have broken the law.
The individual who was arrested in this case was Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid, an IT professional from Gurgaon. he has been charged in relation to the publication of obscene information in electronic content under Section 67 of India’s Information Technology Act 2000.
Not too long ago, Google handed over information to Brazilian officials during an investigation into suspected pedophiles using Orkut.