"Rights group Privacy International rated the search giant as "hostile" to privacy in a report ranking web firms by how they handle personal data. The group said Google was leading a "race to the bottom" among net firms many of whom had policies that did little to substantially protect users." (BBC News)

Yeah. Google knows that most people give up their privacy to get something for free. And that the emergence of communities and social networking sites makes people willing to give away information about themselves without thinking much about it - how it might be used and possible abused.