[nonrandomstring]

> Should they instead invest time and public money into solving simple product problems ... when that problem is well met by the private sector?

I think the answer is yes, and in my earlier post said I'd actually be happy to give more money for government projects that protect peoples' privacy better. For me the problem is not "well met by the private sector" because that solution imposes a hidden externality upon the public end-users. Part of the price we pay is leaking of our data to a non-national private company.

[pc86]

I'm not sure using Google Analytics qualifies as an "externality" but even if it does the UK government has proven time and time again it doesn't give a damn about anyone's privacy, so what makes you think any in-house version would be any better for privacy? Because it would certainly be worse from a technical standpoint.

[nonrandomstring]

> what makes you think any in-house version would be any better for privacy?

Well, it's a personal value judgement what is "better" of course, but for me being British, I see my government as having some legitimate interest in what I am doing, especially when transacting with them.

On the other hand, a gargantuan for-profit American corporation that enriches it's shareholders and was once run by Eric Schmidt, whose legendary face-palm gaffes buried "Don't be Evil" under a smoking heap of sulphurous brimstone....

  "We know where you are. We know where you’ve been. We can more or
  less know what you’re thinking about"

No thanks!

My government may be a sneaky bunch of bastards, but so far they've had the good manners not to openly show utter contempt for privacy.

[ozim]

I’d say they are “your bunch of sneaky bastards”.

I’d rather have my government doing web analytics than some faceless corporation from across the globe.

Might be of course different for people in totalitarian regimes - but as far as I am concerned I still can vote on ones in my country.