From Wired, regarding a recent letter from nine governments calling upon Google to uphold more stringent privacy standards. The letter states “privacy is a fundamental right that people value deeply” and calls upon Google to ensure “that all personal data is adequately protected.” As the Wired article points out with this table, eight of the nine signatory nations regularly call upon Google to divulge the deeply valued personal data of their citizens.
The article says that Google becoming a government regulated entity is inevitable, which would make this process even easier.
I feel like I should have a sense of foreboding, but my gut tells me that even without Google’s help any government could get nearly any dirt they wanted on me without too much trouble. It’s a small comfort for me to think that the real CIA is probably more like the Burn After Reading CIA than, say, The Enemy of the State CIA.