In a chilling revelation of what the future holds for global privacy, Google Drive's terms and conditions allow US law enforcement agencies to access your files without permission or a warrant. In this instance, Australian law becomes irrelevant.
TrendMicro cloud creator, David Asprey, told news.com.au that Google Drive "destroys any expectation of privacy because you license your data to a third party."
"You give Google full right to do whatever they want to do with your data and of course one of those things is to give your information to law enforcement without a subpoena."
Google Drive's terms and conditions essentially say Google own whatever your upload to its service. Rival DropBox, by comparison, states that it is just holding it for you.
Australian law is all but meaningless, as Google complies with US law.
Google has since responded, saying their terms and conditions allow them to do more things than DropBox, such as tailor ads to your taste.
"You own your files and control their sharing, plain and simple," said a Google statement. "Our Terms of Service enable us to give you the services you want - so if you decide to share a document with someone, or open it on a different device, you can."
By Ben Salter - Tweet @Ben_Salter