> Also worth mentioning that Hoover might be posthumously jealous regarding the amount of dirt Google might have on, well...everybody.
No, it's not really worth mentioning, unless you're implying that Google is blackmailing government employees to expedite rule changes. If you are seriously suggesting that, own it.
Hoover would be jealous of any tech companies, from Apple (remember the Fappening?), Twitter (how many Carlos Dangers are out there?), Mobile Operators to your garden variety ISP, but most of all - the NSA. In fact, if he were alive and in charge of the FBI today he'd wrangle up an ongoing "inter-agency information sharing" set up, and would not be jealous of anyone at all.
Sure, they have not yet succumbed to the temptation. There is something unique about a company with their market share in internet search, browser, email, phone handsets, maps/gps, ad clicks etc, though. The sort of triangulated dossier you could put together would be impressive.
Edit: "Our new Privacy Policy makes clear that, if you’re signed in, we may combine information you've provided from one service with information from other services."
I, personally, wouldn't be shocked if a company lobbying for something with potential controversy (Uber, an e-Cig company, whatever) used the data at their disposal to advance their cause.
It might start short of blackmail, sure. My e-cig company is going to face a panel of government officials. Might I check my sales records to see if any of them are customers, to help identify someone on the panel that might be more sympathetic? If I had access to other data, might I push farther?
It's not that I think Google is particularly more evil than any other corporate entity. It's the scale that scares me. Aside from the products I mentioned, there's also Google Fiber, a fleet of camera equipped cars, the Nest home products, and more. And not much in between all that and something scary other than corporate policy and personal ethics.
