[jp-x-g]

I think this depends on a radical redefinition of what it means to "share" something. If I put a book in a self-storage unit, and later go to retrieve it, is the owner of the property "providing" or "sharing" the book? What if I am leasing an apartment from a landlord?

I suppose it is an issue inherent to services set up to run through central providers, who can institute arbitrary controls on the services, i.e. if they don't they are failing to do so, which of course exposes them to liability and censure, et cetera.

[justin101]

Irrespective of this is right or wrong, the concern of the lawyers at google would not be "If Google _should_ be held accountable for the private activity of users", the concern of the lawyers will always be "what _could_ they be held accountable for."