According to NBC Bay Area, the US Federal Government issued a secret court order to Google and ISP provider Sonic.net to handover account data from Jacob Applebaum, a WikiLeaks volunteer who they believe was involved in the leaking of classified docs.
No party involved with the matter is saying much, but it brings back an issue which has lingered around Google for the better part of five years. With all the data they hang onto, there’s always the threat that some governing body will demand to see it, despite Google’s loose promise to keep data somewhat private. Whether or not Google can fend off, or even attempt to fend off, these court orders will be worth paying attention to, as it will give us an idea of how Google’s stance towards privacy has or hasn’t changed.[NBC Bay Area]