Google Hands Wikileaks Volunteer’s Gmail Data to U.S. Government

Don't expect your congress to intervene to protect our privacy. We are without lawful oversight protection. We're on our own my friends.

by Break The Matrix on October 11, 2011

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Gmail users got a hefty dose of reality today when it was revealed that Google handed over one user’s private data to the U.S. government, who requested it without a search warrant.
The contacts list and IP address data of Jacob Appelbaum, a WikiLeaks volunteer and developer for Tor was given to the U.S. government after they requested it using a secret court order enabled by a controversial 1986 law called the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, according to the Wall Street Journal. The law allows the government to demand information from ISPs not only without a warrant, but without ever notifying the user.


Sonic.net, a smaller ISP who was also asked to hand over data related Appelbaum, tried to challenge the order in court, but ultimately lost and was to give up the information. It’s not known if Google resisted the request, but both companies did try to ensure that Appelbaum could at least be made aware of the data retrieval.

According to the company’s own Transparency Report, Google received 4,601 user data requests from the U.S. government in the second half of 2010, and it complied with 94% of them. Those requests include warrantless inquiries as well as those accompanied by a search warrant.

Google Hands Wikileaks Volunteer’s Gmail Data to U.S. Government [continued]