For those who don’t work in the industry, understand that Europe has some of the most rigid privacy laws in the world. It’s a downright certainty that there is going to be a huge inquiry into Google’s release of European citizens’ online information to US authorities. Google, of course, is caught between a rock and a hard place.

Clearly, it’s incumbent on all of is to understand with whom and what we’re dealing when we use Google in any of its myriad forms. I do not use Google metrics, Google email, Google Docs, Google AdSense or Google AdWords, precisely because of privacy concerns. Your mileage may vary; choose based on your own judgement.

Here’s the story from ZDNet: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/google-admits-patriot-act-requests-handed-over-european-data-to-us-authorities/12191:

Google admits Patriot Act requests; Handed over European data to U.S. authorities

Google has become the latest company to admit the vulnerabilities of an insecure European cloud due to the USA PATRIOT Act….

Specifically, U.S. intelligence, according to one source, asked Google to hand over data stored in a European datacenter.

Admitting to complying with Patriot Act requests, it follows Microsoft’s admission earlier this year, proving that EU-based data is insecure and at risk from U.S. inspection, if local subsidiaries are linked to a U.S. based headquarters.

Google confirmed this to German media group WirtschaftsWoche.