cocaine and google's new privacy policy.

Every time I log on to Gmail, Google has been asking me to take a look at its new and improved privacy policy.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of ignorant people who just click "I Agree" instead of actually reading the "Privacy Policy" and "Terms of Use."  And I am one of them.

But an uncanny coincidence sparked my interest.  The ads on my Gmail page are eerily relevant to my recent online activity.  I thought, "Maybe this privacy policy will tell me more."  It's written in clear and simple language, and although I won't say I've read the whole thing, I'm in the process.

As far as I can tell, the policy doesn't mean that much will change.  Apparently, Google has already been collecting my information, including device, search, and location information.  It's just that now they've decided to tell me about it.  Here's the link if you want to know more.

So...  Google, Facebook, and other sites collect our information, allegedly to make our internet experience even better.  Should we be worried?

I guess it depends on who you ask.  Unauthorized use of private information is becoming a bigger and bigger issue in this country.  Take United States v. Jones, for example.  A few years ago, police received a warrant to place a GPS tracker on the car of Antoine Jones, who was suspected of involvement in narcotics.  Police then used the device to track his movements over the next month, leading to the seizure of almost 100 kilograms in cocaine.  Last month, the Supreme Court decided that such an action was in violation of the fourth amendment.  One of the questions raised by such a case is this: Should I really expect my sensitive information to remain that way once it's on the Internet?  Justice Sotomayor said:

"… it may be necessary to reconsider the premise that an individual has no reasonable expectation of privacy in information voluntarily disclosed to third parties… This approach is ill-suited to the digital age, in which people reveal a great deal of information about themselves to third parties in the course of carrying out mundane tasks. People disclose the phone numbers that they dial or text to their cellular providers; the URLs that they visit and the e-mail addresses with which they correspond to their Internet service providers; and the books, groceries, and medications they purchase to online retailers… I for one doubt that people would accept without complaint the warrantless disclosure to the Government of a list of every Web site they had visited in the last week, or month, or year."

Google's new policy says that it promises not to share your information, unless it is deemed necessary in order to "meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or enforceable governmental request."

What is that supposed to mean?