Yahoo and Microsoft and AOL, on my!

There’s a lot more news today on the Google subpoena that I blogged yesterday.

First, I have to report that my idea of sending messages via your search strings won’t work. Declan McCullagh, in his News.com FAQ piece on the subpoena, that the dates they’re looking to see are in June and July, 2005. Of course, with my tendency toward conspiracy theory, you have to wonder what else might have went on in that period, in addition to pervs looking for kiddie porn.

Second, McCullagh reports that in addition to Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL were also served with subpoenas. I am surprised but please to report that AOL may have at least negotiated, and wound up turning over around a day’s worth of search terms. Interestingly enough, the Feds have also narrowed their request for Google’s results to a single day. Wouldn’t you really like to know what day, and if it was the same for both?

Third, like Yahoo, Microsoft, perhaps still bruised from their recent antitrust battle, rolled over and showed their tummy.

I think this whole thing doesn’t pass a sniff test. Get out the tinfoil if you wish, but I’d make a bet that something else is going on besides trying to defend an anti-porn statute.

On the “news you can use” front, Wired has a handy article on “How to Foil Search Engine Snoops“. The methodology isn’t perfect, but it’s better than nothing.