If you build it

As the saying goes, "If you build it, they will come." In today's high tech world, that translates into "If you store it, Caesar will want it." as Google has to give up search info to the Department of Justice. Incidentally this is regarding the DOJ building a case against child porn. A pretty easy target to start the slippery slope as no one is going to defend their constitutional right to kiddie porn.

Although the Justice Department said it doesn't want any personal information now, the victory would likely encourage far more invasive requests in the future, said University of Connecticut law professor Paul Schiff Berman, who specializes in Internet law.

"The erosion of privacy tends to happen incrementally," Berman said. "While no one intrusion may seem that big, over the course of the next decade or two, you might end up in a place as a society where you never thought you would be."

Ironically enough, Google is posturing as fighting for your privacy rights.

Cooperating with the government "is a slippery slope and it's a path we shouldn't go down," Google co-founder Sergey Brin told industry analysts earlier this month.

Pretty interesting stance for a company that makes money off indexing and distributing your information. And a company that recently agreed to censorship by the Communist government in China.