A Case That Has Microsoft, Apple and Amazon Agreeing
<i>"There’s irony in any tech company confronting the government on privacy matters, considering how much heat many take for mining their own customer information and using it for advertising and other profitable purposes."</i><p>See, I don't find this very ironic.  In fact, my only real issue with data mining and analysis by these sorts of companies is the way governments can demand this info without my approval.<p>If Microsoft or Google or Apple or Amazon offer me a service and state that "hey, we'll provide this service for no cash outlay but data you submit to our servers will be analyzed to tailor search results, advertising, and other behavior to your usage" I can opt into that knowing that I'm trading targeted ads for free email or hosting or whatever.  If I don't think that's a good deal, I don't use the service.  If I think "OK, ads are a fair price for this stuff" then again, I'm cool with that.<p>But just because I agree to let Google read my location to send me traffic warnings before heading out to work doesn't mean I want the FBI to grab that data without my knowledge so they can determine if I might be a troublemaker.  Just because I agree to let Amazon use my Amazon searches to suggest other products I might want doesn't mean I want the DEA demanding that info to decide if the gardening gear I purchased was for tomatoes or growing cannabis.<p>I'm perfectly aware that you pay for the things you get, whether it's directly with cash or indirectly from advertisers who pay for access to your eyeballs.  Those are things I can consent to or decline.  But when people with guns and the ability to throw me in jail can demand access to that info without my knowledge, I'm no longer agreeing to the same thing.<p>It's like signing a contract where someone else has the ability to change the fine print after I've signed it.