Why people like Edward Snowden say they will boycott Google's newest messaging app [I disagree]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/05/21/why-people-like-edward-snowden-say-they-will-boycott-googles-newest-messaging-app/ Google this week announced a new messaging app with strong encryption that even the government, with a warrant, can't wiretap. But there's a catch: You have to turn on that feature yourself. The tech titan's plan to launch Allo this summer without end-to-end encryption by default has drawn withering criticism from some quarters. - - - I have no problems at all with Google's current design decision for Allo. It may come as a surprise to many persons that *most* governments not only don't have any routine interest in the content of most people's phone calls, they don't care about your chats either. Your breathless discussions of celebrity clothing choices and family squabbles are not on the government's radar. Nor can the government gain access to Allo chats even in their default settings without full due legal process. For the vast majority of people, the AI capabilities that default Allo provides far outweigh theoretical privacy advantages of end-to-end crypto. And if you're really feeling paranoid, go ahead and turn on the end-to-end crypto. Your choice. But after decades in the privacy game I've learned that (like so much else in life) it's all about balance, with positions at the far left or right always ranging somewhere between ludicrous and dangerous. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren Founder: - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com I have consulted to Google, but I am not currently doing so -- my opinions expressed here are mine alone. _______________________________________________ pfir mailing list http://lists.pfir.org/mailman/listinfo/pfir
