October 30, 2006 3:06PM 

# Google (et al.) and Government Surveillance 

By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) 

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Ars Technica reports [here](http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061030-8105.html) on the “provocative claim that Google is currently cooperating with secret elements in the US government, including the CIA.” This is a possibility I blogged about [here](https://www.cato.org/2006/10/18/google-office-vs-government-request/) a couple of weeks ago.

It’s something people should be concerned about, and people’s concern is something Google should be concerned about.

People averse to the risk of exposing their online activities to government surveillance should take Google’s studious silence as confirmation.

##### Related Tags 

[Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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