I hadn't heard about this. Exactly what types of search records is the government seeking? What is Yahoo telling them? What is Google fighting to not tell them?
Either way, this is a sad sad state of affairs. The way our government is being run almost makes me wanna pack my bags and move to canada!

I've blogged about this as well on my nu non-Yahoo! blog:
http://daniel360.com/archives/29

Some people just dont realise what a police state the net could turn out to be. Such people will only know what they have once it's gone - and then it'd be too late.

The "Justice" Department has subpoenaed Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL, demanding all search query records in a specific week in the summer of '05. Ostensibly, this is to perform research on how easy it is for children to find porn. They claim that these privacy violations are needed, in order to protect children from internet pornography. Unfortunately, as is the tendency of 51% the modern American public, people are misunderstanding the situation as a needed concession in order to protect children from being IN pornography.
Middle America's penchant for misinterpretation aside (generalization), "Big Brother" works with great ease when the dumb majority of the electorate expresses such gullibility and "faith" in our mighty dictator and his goons. Even more frightening is American's complacency when the very "freedom" they tout religiously, are being taken away.
The Department of "Justice" has, likely, initiated the beginning of the decline of our free expression on the internet. Google appreciates it customer base enough to uphold our privacy rights and continues to fight against this decline. Meanwhile, Yahoo, as well as, MSN & AOL capitulated instantly (Clear Channel anyone?). As a result, these products are now worthless.
Complacent & complicit in tyranny, at "home" and abroad, The new Yahoo way.

As an aside, Canada's election yesterday (1/23) led to the conservative candidate as their leader. I wonder how this similar political leaning with his "heaven sent" neighbor (George W.), will effect Canada's foreign and domestic policies?