Yes - it is common knowledge that Google (and others) use email for advertising. But you (or perhaps upthread) are implying that Google willingly hands over da

Yes - it is common knowledge that Google (and others) use email for advertising. But you (or perhaps upthread) are implying that Google willingly hands over data to government authorities. The evidence would point to the contrary: Google (and Microsoft I might add) are complying with the law, but are not simply rolling over and handing out whatever is asked of them. Their ability to fight back against unwarranted requests is probably much better than someone running their own mail server in their basement.