Link: http://www.siliconbeat.com/entries/2006/01/18/googles_privacy_fight_with_the_government.html

Google is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with the US Government over a demand that it hand over large amounts of search engine usage data. The government has shown no probable cause requiring the access of this data. The demand is apparently connected to an investigation into pornography and child pornography.
This is just what I feared the current US Administration would start doing, based on their extraordinarily sweeping claims of executive privilege in other areas, following the implementation of the Patriot Act (which will, one day, be seen as one of the most appallingly Orwellian pieces of legislation in US history).
I have sent an email to Google informing them that I support their refusal to turn over this information to the US Government. This is nothing more than a "fishing expedition", with no attempt being made to target data for individuals based on probable cause. The US Government will not explain what it intends to do with the data, and since I do not trust this administration, based on their track record of making policies based on defective information and then refusing to admit culpability, I do not want any of my personal information being made available.
I also informed Google that if they comply with any part of this demand, I will stop using all Google-related services wherever I encounter them, and where I have a choice in the matter.
Richard Veryard has pointed out on his blog that the information request made by the US Government could be satisfied easily by the creation of specific narrow-scope services that would retrieve only specific targetted information when required. He is correct that this would be a significantly better outcome than the current sweeping request. However, the fundamental privacy and due process issues remain.
Privacy protection has reached a crucial juncture in the USA. No government should have the right to engage in these kind of broad-ranging, unexplained, surreptitious data collection activities in peacetime (and I would remind readers that constitutionally the USA is not at war with anybody right now).