The Electronic Frontier Foundation conducted a study to see which of the 18 major internet companies will stand beside their users against governments intrusions.
The introduction from the study at the EFF.org
The Electronic Frontier Foundation examined the policies of 18 major Internet companies — including email providers, ISPs, cloud storage providers, and social networking sites — to assess whether they publicly commit to standing with users when the government seeks access to user data. We looked at their terms of service, privacy policies, and published law enforcement guides, if any. We also examined their track record of fighting for user privacy in the courts and whether they’re members of the Digital Due Process coalition, which works to improve outdated communications law. Finally, we contacted each of the companies with our conclusions and gave them an opportunity to respond and provide us evidence of improved policies and practices. These categories are not the only ways that a company can stand up for users, of course, but they are important and publicly verifiable.
Their conclusion…
Readers of this year’s annual privacy and transparency report should be heartened, as we are, at the improvements major online service providers over the last year. While there remains room for improvement in areas such as the policies of location service providers, certain practices — like publishing law enforcement guidelines and regular transparency reports — are becoming standard industry practice. And we are seeing a growing, powerful movement that comprises civil liberties groups as well as major online service providers to clarify outdated privacy laws so that there is no question government agents need a court-ordered warrant before accessing sensitive location data, email content and documents stored in the cloud.
Read the entire report here
