Google Wants E-Mail Scanning Information Blocked

Google is seeking to black out portions of a transcript from a public court hearing that includes information on how it mines data from personal e-mails.

Google, fighting a lawsuit claiming its interception of e-mails amounts to illegal wiretapping, asked US District Judge Lucy Koh in a filing to redact “confidential” information from the transcript, without being more specific.

The main revelation at the Feb 27 hearing was the existence of “Content Onebox,” used by Google to intercept e-mails for targeted advertising and to build user profiles, Sean Rommel, a lawyer for plaintiffs, told the judge at the time. The hearing in federal court in San Jose (CA) was to determine whether the lawsuit will proceed as a group suit, or class action.