Here’s another Google subpoena case. It looks like I was wrong in my radio sound bite: we didn’t have months before this case came up — we didn’t even have days,
Police blotter: Judge orders Gmail disclosure: The subpoena asks for not only current e-mail but also deleted e-mail: “All documents concerning all Gmail accounts of Baker…for the period from Jan. 1, 2003, to present, including but not limited to all e-mails and messages stored in all mailboxes, folders, in-boxes, sent items and deleted items, and all links to related Web pages contained in such e-mail messages.”
Google’s privacy policy says deleted e-mail messages “may remain in our offline backup systems” in perpetuity. It does not guarantee that backups are ever deleted. Baker estimated he may have tens of thousands of e-mail messages in his Gmail account.
Remember: Google never forgets. And it can all be traced back to you.
[yes, yes, I’m not speaking to the .00001% of you who know how to route things through anonymizing proxies and actually do so on a routine basis, ok?]
I’m not really disturbed by the deleted e-mail portion of this story. To me saying that they shouldn’t be subject to search is like saying that documents which have been shredded but can be reassembled should be immune from any search warrant or that, so long as you’ve thrown your drugs into the trash, the police shouldn’t be able to use them as evidence. More disturbing to me is the extremely broad way in which the subpoena was written and the fact that the accused must bear the cost associated with compliance. And those objections apply to current e-mail in an inbox every bit as much as deleted mail.
The point isn’t that the FTC acted unreasonably in seeking to subpoena the deleted messages, or that the judge acted unreasonably in going along; it’s simply that there are privacy risks associated with using gmail. One should appreciate those risks before blithely taking them on.
I wonder if Google runs its search technology on all G-mails for things like SOURCE CODE
etc and takes it for their own use. Gah and to think I have my Linux box using gmail.
.hack
I see absolutely NOTHING wrong with this. Surveillance of personal effects and records has always been the mainstay of good, stable governments. I fully support the archiving and government access of electronic communication records. What harm could possibly come of this?
Heinrich
It figures you would see it that way.
Freak of nature.
I hope you get just what Osama deserves. Death at the hands of your own people!
On second thought
It would figure you’d see it that way seeing as you have the same name as Hitler’s second Himmler.
Zeig hiel! *Sarcasm* And say Yavou to Der’ Furrer on your way out Nazi!
Ok now that was going a bit overboard.
First off you have no proof he’s a Nazi (ok so his email is H. Himmler@gastapo.gov but uhm ok i have retorte for that) however making such kneejerk responses like that after over 50 years that WW2 has been over is just plain uncalled for.
You should be ashamed of yourself for associating him with such a horrible butcher all on account of a name. Im sure at some point in earth past you’re name may have been accociated with some past unsavory charecter.
How would you feel about you’re name being draged through the mud based apone that?
Though as to the matter at hand i do conc-coure with others that our government has overstepped what should and has past been it’s bounds in this matter.
Oh you guys! Are you stupid? Can’t you recognize a troll/sarcasm when you see one. There is no gestapo.gov.
Himmler was the leader of the nazi SS. Doh!