[higherpurpose]

This is not the first time Microsoft had actual employees look through their users' personal accounts. At least Google only mines the data algorithmically, but this is way worse.

http://wmpoweruser.com/watch-what-you-store-on-skydriveyou-m...

This is why I think Microsoft's "privacy attack ads" against Google are done in really poor taste - not necessarily because some or most of them aren't true, but because I know the company doing those ads is just as bad or worse for the very same thing they're accusing Google of. I can't support that.

[ntakasaki]

How do you figure actual employees were trawling through emails in that incident?

Here's Google nailing someone for child porn.

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2013/11/21/googles-role-in-wo...

AFAIK almost all online storage services use automatic scanners to screen out items violating the ToS.

>At least Google only mines the data algorithmically, but this is way worse.

Really? How do you even know if the Google CEO read your Gmail today? What recourse do you have? None.

http://gawker.com/5637234/gcreep-google-engineer-stalked-tee...

[meowface]

>Really? How do you even know if the Google CEO read your Gmail today? What recourse do you have? None.

This is simply a risk you take with any company you become a customer of. You are willingly give that company certain power over you. Rogue employees will always be able to do things that are harmful.

There are many cases of rogue employees working for Comcast and AT&T who will look up someone's IP address and find their full name and address, and harass them or spread that information. Most of the time, some number of employees need access to information like that, and eventually one of them will end up going rogue or becoming mentally unstable.

[chaostheory]

This is just on an official level. Years ago, an overseas Hotmail support employee confided that if needed they will snoop in a friend's gf's email account if asked as a favor. Hopefully they instituted controls to halt this behavior since then.