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I don't think most governments will go that far for casual usage, however I do see more restrictions on confidential, "official business" communication and stor

by eksith 13y ago

I don't think most governments will go that far for casual usage, however I do see more restrictions on confidential, "official business" communication and storage through these (which, I hope is already the case). Think of how much disruption would be caused if Hotmail, for instance, was forbidden in addition to Gmail. Many of the early adopters of the web in these countries flocked to the most popular platforms (in addition to their ISP email of course). Having to print new business cards would hardly be the only inconvenience.

EthanHeilman 13y ago
There are levels, but the danger is that some person with sensitive information may communicate the information using an insecure service. For instance someone might remark that the military appears to be building a large underground structure near their farm, the US could then use this information to locate a newly build ICBM silo. The levels of action that a nation could take to protect itself are: 1. They could train people who have access to sensitive information not to use any US service. This is what the US has done asking some members of the intelligence community to not use Skype and other services due to worries about its insecurity. This is probably common training for handling sensitive information in most nations. 2. They could filter such services at government offices, schools and sensitive sites. For instance no company can get defense contracts unless they have a policy that prevents their employees from using gmail. This is probably the most likely additional action that will taken and it will hurt US business. 3. They could filter such services at the national level. China (1 billion people) already does this, I wouldn't be surprised if Russia started. It's unlikely to happen on a global scale but each country that bans another US service hurts the economy. We saw this happen with US crypto export controls, the market spoke and companies began switching to non-US software.
- EthanHeilman 13y ago
  Additionally there is a very real possibility of backlash against US companies. It makes them uncool and political hot potatoes, who wants to use a phone made by some pet of the NSA.

by eksith 13y ago

EthanHeilman 13y ago

There are levels, but the danger is that some person with sensitive information may communicate the information using an insecure service. For instance someone might remark that the military appears to be building a large underground structure near their farm, the US could then use this information to locate a newly build ICBM silo. The levels of action that a nation could take to protect itself are: 1. They could train people who have access to sensitive information not to use any US service. This is what the US has done asking some members of the intelligence community to not use Skype and other services due to worries about its insecurity. This is probably common training for handling sensitive information in most nations. 2. They could filter such services at government offices, schools and sensitive sites. For instance no company can get defense contracts unless they have a policy that prevents their employees from using gmail. This is probably the most likely additional action that will taken and it will hurt US business. 3. They could filter such services at the national level. China (1 billion people) already does this, I wouldn't be surprised if Russia started. It's unlikely to happen on a global scale but each country that bans another US service hurts the economy. We saw this happen with US crypto export controls, the market spoke and companies began switching to non-US software.

EthanHeilman 13y ago
Additionally there is a very real possibility of backlash against US companies. It makes them uncool and political hot potatoes, who wants to use a phone made by some pet of the NSA.