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Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

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Re: Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

#321

Post by zotex »

drnick1 wrote: post #133
jfoworjf wrote: post #5

This story is the one that finally pushed me to leave google. I moved off my ~20 year old Google account and deleted everything off their services including almost a decade of Google photos. I cancelled my Google one subscription for extra space. I'm now self hosting what I can and paying proton mail for everything else. I refuse to allow a company that will hand over data at the request of an administrative warrant…

This. The real solution here is to keep your data, encrypted, on your own devices. The idea that everything needs to be in the cloud is absurd and naturally leads to concentration of power.

[flagged]

Re: Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

#322

Post by pseudalopex »

peyton wrote: post #175
SoftTalker wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or there may be more to the story than he's telling.

Guy seems to have earned himself a ban from entering Cornell’s premises[1]. They seem to be letting him finish [2], which tracks—they’re pretty chill IME. Something might’ve went down… [1]: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/05/palest... [2]: https://panthernow.com/2026/03/03/international-students-sel...

This disruption, according to a University statement, involved shoving police officers, making guests of the University feel threatened and denying students the opportunity to experience the career fair.

Sun reporters on the scene did not observe any physical violence towards law enforcement but did note distress among recruiters, students and administration involved in the career fair.[1]

[1] https://www.cornellsun.com/article/2024/09/pro-palestine-pro...

Re: Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

#323

Post by dnnddidiej »

jmward01 wrote: post #4

Privacy, technology and actual freedom overlap massively. Stories like this making it to HN are important since many of the people working at Google that had interactions with this, either by creating the tech or being aware of internal policy changes, read HN. Additionally many founders and decision makers in companies read these stories because it hit HN. Knowing that Google will do this changes your legal calculat…

There is no architectural design where some covert team in Google can't exist to leak out data. After all the system needs to be able to let the user see their data. Unless they go open source, e2e encrypted, user managed keys and key backups, and user verification of client code. Which also means ad free.

Re: Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

#324

Post by shmeeed »

tclancy wrote: post #275
BeetleB wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anticipation of stories like this are why I didn't rely much on Google 20 years ago. Never used Gmail other than as a throwaway account. Went many years before I had a Youtube account. Finally made one to upload some videos. I am normally not logged in. (OK, OK - I was more concerned with them suddenly charging for a "free" service, as well as selling data to commercial enterprises than with them giving to the govern…

What will the world be like in 2046?

That doesn't matter.

The question is, who do you trust with your private data forever? To me and the parent, the answer is obvious: no one except yourself.

Re: Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

#325

Post by flaburgan »

palata wrote: post #310
drnick1 wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. The real solution here is to keep your data, encrypted, on your own devices. The idea that everything needs to be in the cloud is absurd and naturally leads to concentration of power.

If the data is encrypted, it can go on the cloud, though.

It still is risky, as who knows what tools NSA & cie really have. Even if it feels safe now, it can be stored by them, and what will (quantum?) computers be able to do in a decade? And how will the US gov look like at that time?

Re: Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

#326

Post by cheriot »

jfoworjf wrote: post #5

This story is the one that finally pushed me to leave google. I moved off my ~20 year old Google account and deleted everything off their services including almost a decade of Google photos. I cancelled my Google one subscription for extra space. I'm now self hosting what I can and paying proton mail for everything else. I refuse to allow a company that will hand over data at the request of an administrative warrant…

Are there good hosted options that will not respond to non-judicial data requests?

Someone is going to say self hosted is better and I don't disagree, but there's limits to how much time I can spend on self hosted stuff.

Re: Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

#327

Post by aurmc »

Yokohiii wrote: post #296
traderj0e wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that we're only hearing one side is suspicious enough

ICE is free to speak. I don't think they have interest to explain why they hunt someone.

Nor, I assume, do they have any interest to explain how they hunt someone.

Re: Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

#328

Post by bannable »

Spooky23 wrote: post #280
FireBeyond wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Administrative subpoenas are tenuous at best, but in the absence of an actual court order, words from ICE attorneys or officers saying "You are ordered not to disclose the details of this subpoena" have no actual weight in law.

The article pointed this out as well, but notably did not state that Google had in fact received an administrative subpoena.

fta

> In September 2024, Amandla Thomas-Johnson was a Ph.D. candidate studying in the U.S. on a student visa when he briefly attended a pro-Palestinian protest. In April 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent Google an administrative subpoena requesting his data.

Re: Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

#329

Post by [deleted] »

Spooky23 wrote: post #280
FireBeyond wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Administrative subpoenas are tenuous at best, but in the absence of an actual court order, words from ICE attorneys or officers saying "You are ordered not to disclose the details of this subpoena" have no actual weight in law.

The article pointed this out as well, but notably did not state that Google had in fact received an administrative subpoena.

[deleted]

Re: Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

#330

Post by trocado »

sam345 wrote: post #201
smallmancontrov wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Migrating is such a good feeling. You don't have to do it all at once, either: I migrated to fastmail over the course of several years. Each time google did something that got my blood pressure up I went into my password manager and migrated another account. In aggregate it was a hassle, but these days I almost miss the feeling of being able to do something in response to stinky actions from google.

I don't think fastmail is going to help you. They are subject to legal requirements too and probably American jurisdiction also despite what their particular position is. https://www.fastmail.com/blog/fastmails-servers-are-in-the-u... . People love to hate Google but they're just doing what any corporation subject to law is going to do.

Fwiw that post states:

> It has been pointed out to us that since we have our servers in the US, we are under US jurisdiction. We do not believe this to be the case. We do not have a legal presence in the US, no company incorporated in the US, no staff in the US, and no one in the US with login access to any servers located in the US. Even if a US court were to serve us with a court order, subpoena or other instruction to hand over user data, Australian communications and privacy law explicitly forbids us from doing so.

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