Google will likely have to turn over search-engine usage records to the Department of Justice (DOJ) following a hearing Tuesday in which the judge indicated he will probably order the company to comply with a government subpoena, according to published reports.

U.S. District Court Judge James Ware said he is likely to issue such an order after the government said at the hearing that it seeks significantly less information from Google than its original subpoena request, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition. The government is now asking for 50,000 URLs and 5,000 search queries, Nicole Wong, associate general counsel at Google, said in an e-mail statement after the hearing, confirming that the request for information was scaled back.

Ware, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, must decide whether the subpoena is justified, as the government argues, or whether it is overreaching and compromises the privacy of users, as Google contends.

The DOJ is happy with early reports of what transpired at the hearing, said DOJ spokesman Charles Miller.

Ware is reportedly leaning toward granting at least part of the government's request, probably by ordering Google to provide data on random Web sites found on its search engine index. However, the judge also said he wants to be sensitive to users' privacy concerns that evidence of their personal search behavior may end up in the government's hands, according to press reports. Judge Ware reportedly indicated he would make a decision very soon.

"We're very encouraged by the judge's thoughtful questions and comments. They reflected our concerns about user privacy and the scope of the government's subpoena request," Wong said via e-mail.

The government in January filed a motion with the court to compel Google to comply with its subpoena and turn over a "random sample" of 1 million Web site addresses found in its search engine index. It also asked to provide the government with the text of all queries filed on the search engine during a specific week. America Online, Yahoo and 's MSN were also subpoenaed and complied to varying degrees.

At issue is the DOJ's defense of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) law, whose constitutionality has so far been successfully challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in an ongoing legal tussle.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.