Google Inc (GOOG): Is This George Orwell’s Dream?

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) surely is a fan of George Orwell, don’t you think?

Many of us remember reading George Orwell’s dystopian book, 1984. The idea of “Big Brother” watching you germinated from that book, and some of us had bad dreams after reading that book in school. At the same time, one of the most memorable Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) TV commercials was based on that concept. So we get what we want to get out of something like that. While the book was written 60 years ago, it is still considered one of the classics on school reading lists alongside To Kill a Mockingbird.

What would a mashup look like, if someone decided to mix George Orwell with Harper Lee? Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) may have it now with its wearable computer. Could you imagine Scout or, better yet, Boo Radley wearing Google Glass? The idea seems a little silly, but Google Glass has definitely raised concerns among consumers, and now those concerns about privacy and constantly being watched has now apparently creeped out privacy commissioners in 36 countries around the world and prompted them to write a letter to Google CEO Larry Page.

In the open letter, signed by commissioners from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Israel, Switzerland as well as members of the Article 29 Working Party, the European Union’s privacy monitoring group, sought answers from Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) to some questions regarding Google Glass, its privacy measures as well as whether data collected by the devices is stored, how it is stored as well as concerns about the concept of constant videotaping and/or surveillance by wearers of the devices.

Image: Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)

“Fears of ubiquitous surveillance of individuals by other individuals, whether through such recordings or through other applications currently being developed, have been raised. Questions about Google’s collection of such data and what it means in terms of Google’s revamped privacy policy have also started to appear,” they wrote in the letter to Page. “We would be very interested in hearing about the privacy implications of this new product and the steps you are taking to ensure that, as you move forward with Google Glass, individuals’ privacy rights are respected around the world.”

What do you think?