• CNET News.com, Tuesday, June 12, 2007 10:31 AM

Given the spate of legal problems surrounding Google these days, you'd be forgiven for thinking the ubiquitous Web giant's stock ought to suffer a little bit. Rather, it's soaring ($511 per share), even though Google just failed a privacy report issued by a high-profile industry watchdog, YouTube is sued right and left for copyright infringement, Google Maps and Google Street View have come under fire for revealing too much, and there are cries of monopoly in the industry over Google's $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick. Don't be evil, indeed.

Some wonder if Google is creeping the industry -- and its patrons -- One IT manager was alerted by his HR department that he was spotted on Google Street View having an illegal coffee break. As ridiculous as that sounds, the HR person's worrisome question: "Do you know that there are cameras everywhere?" Soon, Google will be tracking husbands, wives, children and terrorists with Google Street GPS Edition.

The fresh speculation comes just a day after the British activist group Privacy International accused Google of being "hostile to privacy," particularly because each new product announcement seems to take surveillance to another level.

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