The Trouble with Gmail
Mass acceptance of the keyword scanning in Google's new e-mail service could leave government spooks feeling lucky.
By Mark Rasch Jun 14 2004 09:01AM PT


Google's plans to run targeted advertising with the mail that you see through its new Gmail service represents a potential break for government agencies that want to use autobots to monitor the contents of electronic communications traveling across networks. Even though the configuration of the Gmail service minimizes the intrusion into privacy, it represents a disturbing conceptual paradigm -- the idea that computer analysis of communications is not a search. This is a dangerous legal precedent which both law enforcement and intelligence agencies will undoubtedly seize upon and extend, to the detriment of our privacy.
http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/248