Internet Search Companies

In the lobby of an internet search engine company's headquarters in California, computer screens' display lists of words being entered into the company's search engine. | Although its says that the system is designed to filter out any scandalous or potentially compromising queries, the fact that even a fraction of searches can be seen by visitors to the world's biggest search company is likely to come as a shock to internet users who think of web browsing as a private affair. | This presents a challenge to internet search companies, which have built a multi-billion dollar industry out of targeted advertising based on the information users reveal about themselves online. | Over the past year, a series of privacy gaffes and government attempts to gain access to the internet user's online histories have, along with consolidation among online search and advertising groups, thrust the issues of internet privacy into the spotlight. | However, that may be changing.