Currently there 425 million people who use Google’s gmail as their main e-mailing client. Most have boasted that it doesn’t have easy hacking access or spam like those other pesky clients. That said, your privacy still may be at stake if you’re using gmail as your primary account. In fact, some sources have claimed that there should be absolutely no “reasonable expectation” that communication won’t be tampered with.
An advocacy group called Consumer Watchdog has unveiled that your information is not private, after they uncovered a filing that they referred to as a “stunning admission.”
John Simpson, the director for Consumer Watchdog’s privacy stated to The Guardian : “Google has finally admitted they don’t respect privacy. People should take them at their word; if you care about your email correspondents’ privacy, don’t use Gmail.”
This revelation has stemmed from a class action suit that was filed in May. The lawsuit has accused the tech company from wire tapping, and scanning emails sent from non-Google accounts for advertisement purposes, that would target email providers.
The suit claimed that Google : “unlawfully opens up, reads, and acquires the content of people’s private email messages” In addition Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman said of the accusation that, “Google policy is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it.”
Google followed that up with an analogy to protect their right, having said: “Just as a sender of a letter to a business colleague cannot be surprised that the recipient’s assistant opens the letter.”
Although it’s a firm statement made on behalf of Google, Simpson truly believes that the actions made by Google is an infringement of privacy, having said:
“Google’s brief uses a wrong-headed analogy; sending an email is like giving a letter to the Post Office. I expect the Post Office to deliver the letter based on the address written on the envelope. I don’t expect the mail carrier to open my letter and read it.”
This claim comes after Google landed themselves in a media blitz when they decided to announce their role in the NSA surveillance of US citizens. Google spokesman Chris Gaither spoke about how private information is shared, telling Wired, that they don’t have direct access to servers but they do hand deliver information, to the US government, and in some cases, “generally through secure FTP transfers and in person.”
Are you okay with Google reading your mail?
