Google will have to turn over some of the data requested by the Department of Justice, according to a ruling just handed down by US District Judge James Ware. The DoJ had subpoenaed search records from a one-week period covering 1 million random web addresses in an attempt to make its case for reviving the Child Online Protection Act, which was struck down in 2004. Google fought back, leading to today's ruling.

US District Judge James Ware ruled that Google will need to hand over a portion of the requested data to the DoJ, but has not yet specified the full scope of his ruling. However, he indicated that he had significant reservations about requiring the search engine to comply with all of the terms of the subpoena due to the "perception by the public that this is subject to government scrutiny."

Indeed, the entire case has brought the issue of how much privacy (here's a hint: very little) Internet users can expect to have. Google is not alone in keeping track of users' queries and identifying information such as IP addresses and whether the searcher was signed into her Google account, to name a couple. The ACLU had filed a brief supporting Google, citing possible violations of privacy.

For its part, Google wanted to keep the information confidential because it claimed that its release would disclose some of Google's trade secrets and "proprietary systems." In addition, the company said that the government had failed to demonstrate that the data would lead to admissible evidence and that the subpoena imposed an expensive and unwarranted burden without sufficient justification. It's also likely that the company wants to demonstrate that it was committed to keeping data about its users out of the hands of the government during a time when it has come under scrutiny for its dealings with the People's Republic of China.

Originally, the DoJ requested a month's worth of search records, but later narrowed the timeframe down to a week. In addition, it has promised to compensate Google for the costs of compliance. By examining the data from Google and other search engines (which apparently complied fully with the subpoena's they received), the government hopes to demonstrate the ease with which filtering software designed to keep minors from viewing pornography and other content online can be circumvented.

Judge Ware expects to make the decision as to what extent Google will have to comply with the subpoena "very quickly." Chances are good that Google will appeal this ruling.