US gov't asks Google for information on its users

Already on the defensive over a domestic spying program, the Bush administration alarmed privacy and free-speech advocates by demanding search information about millions of users of Google and other Internet companies on Friday. The moves raise questions about how much leeway the government should be given to probe into American homes. The administration is pushing back hard, defending its surveillance as protection from terrorism and, to a lesser extent, a shield against pornography for minors. Critics see the moves as an unwarranted expansion of President George W. Bush's constitutional authority.