If I subscribe to a magazine, it would be nice if they just used my address to send me the magazines and an occassional bill, rather than as a revenue source as they prositute that address information to anyone with a cent or two. When I give my credit card to a business, I expect them to use it to charge me for the purchase I am making, not to sell it to someone who might want to steal my identity. Might it be nice if the law required someone to use another person’s information for the purpose intended (rather than for whatever they thought could make them another dime)? I think the morality of the issue is fairly clear, and someone like Google is quite clearly acting immorally.

The person I was talking with the other day utterly objected to Gmail’s invasion of your privacy– they scan all incoming email messages in order to serve you up advertisements relevant to your most recent mail (I’m sure everyone has been creeped out enough times by this… you wish your mother a happy mother’s day and it’s got “send flowers for mother’s day” listed above your emails). As you say, businesses are businesses for a reason. Theoretically, Google knows the email addresses and phone numbers of everyone I know. They know what searches I do and what is in my email. Even if they “anonymize” the data– come on, we all know SOMEONE out there can access that stuff if they want to. Enough court cases have subpoenaed enough things that suddenly became knowable.

I have to provide my credit card number to businesses when I buy things. Now these businesses know my credit card number. But that’s the whole point. In today’s world of technology and convenience, you have to make some sacrifices for privacy that while we may be a bit uncomfortable with (as identity theft is an ever greater risk), refusing to accept some of this risk means staying in the past and never benefiting from new technologies and conveniences.

If you’re really paranoid, use Cuil. But they don’t let me text for free.