Yes, they technically have to worry about us because we're their customer base, but given the level of cooperation between Silicon Valley and the NSA over the PRISM program, it's clear that "We the People" are not the only thing companies like Google care about.
When you're a big tech giant trying to do anything to stay on top, you need to have a good relationship with the powers that be. If that means sacrificing your customer's privacy to stay in the good graces of the government, then so be it.
Obviously, our government doesn't do a great job of respecting the privacy of Americans either. But the difference between a private corporation like Google and a government agency like the Post Office is that the Post Office is ultimately answerable to "We the People." It's a public agency that is subject to oversight and regulation by Congress, and can't open your mail without a warrant issued by a judge.
We can debate all we want about whether or not Congress is doing a good job of regulating the Post Office, but the potential for checks and balances is still there.
That's what makes the idea of Google acting like law enforcement so scary. Although Google would say that they're merely complying with the law -- Congress did pass a mandatory reporting requirement for companies that discover child porn -- we really have no way of keeping our email providers in check unless they're the Post Office.
There are really only two big solutions to this problem, and the first one is obvious: Stop using Gmail and start using an email service that cares about privacy. The biggest problem with that is that the companies that did offer secure email -- used by Edward Snowden, among others -- went out of business and destroyed their servers to avoid a subpoena from US law enforcement.
The second solution is a little more complicated, but still has big potential. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has proposed letting the Postal Service offer banking services. I think we should start letting it offer email services.
By federal law, the Post Office isn't allowed to open any mail sent First Class or higher without a warrant issued by a judge in compliance with the 4th Amendment's privacy protections. If we let the Postal Service run an email service, we could extend those privacy protections to all electronic messages.
Back in the 18th century, British philosopher Jeremy Bentham proposed a type of prison called a panopticon, which would allow one guard to see what every prisoner was doing without those prisoners knowing they were being spied on.
Today, thanks to the internet, the panopticon is as close to reality as ever. For now, at least, this has helped catch pedophiles like John Skillern, but there's really no way to tell where it will lead next.
Again, once you open the door, anything is possible, good or bad.
We need to have a serious debate about this before the power of tech giants to act like law enforcement gets way out of control.
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