Are you letting the government Google through your files?
Google Desktop 3, the latest iteration of Google’s all-in-one search and utility suite offers a new feature that may compromise your sensitive data. While Google has tried to include warnings in their privacy policy as to what happens to data once loaded up to Google’s servers, and how it’s handled, one can’t help but feel there should be a more direct and clearly stated warning right next to the checkbox.
EFF staff attorney Kevin Bankston says that files on a service provider’s computers, such as those stored by Google, would be easier for law enforcement to access because a subpoena would be issued to the provider, rather than the user. In some circumstances, as with Patriot Act requests, Google would not even be required to notify the user that their files were being turned over. Because of the secrecy of such investigations, it’s impossible to know how many such subpoenas have actually been issued. However, says Bankston, “It’s fair to assume that Google — and all the other search engines — have received and complied with this kind of request in the past.”
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