Today i read an article on "Business Insider" called "How To Permanently Delete Files From Dropbox."  The article shows the readership how to delete their files from Dropbox (a file replication, synchronization, and sharing service - I use it to replicate files between my laptops and desktop systems).  The reason for publishing the article, according to the author is due to "a lot of concern over the past week about Dropbox's update to its Terms of Service."  Dropbox has updated their Terms of Service (ToS) to indicate that if the government makes a lawful request, they will comply - nothing unusual for a company doing business in the US.  Seeing such an article immediately raises a few questions:  How much of the readership of Business Insider really has something to hide?  How many people would believe that deleting their Dropbox files would actually prevent the US Government from getting their files if the government wanted them?  What are all these people hiding?<!--break-->

The fact of the matter is that Dropbox is merely stating that they'll comply with lawful requests from law enforcement, something all US companies tend to do rather than insist on expensive and futile litigation.  If the government wants your files, they'll likely get them with or without cooperation from Dropbox.  I wonder how many Business Insider readers will cancel their Dropbox accounts after reading this article?  Does Dropbox really deserve hysterical press because they've amended their ToS to state that they're complying with the law of the land (as economically as possible)? 

Dropbox is simply stating that they'll cooperate with lawful requests (pretty much a legal requirement if you do business in the US - either the government gets what they request, or they get it anyways by compelling you with a court order or warrant and seizure).  The article really doesn't address the fact that deleting the files off of Dropbox doesn't prevent the government from getting the original files. Perhaps an article on strong hard drive encryption and the fifth amendment as it relates to being forced to divulge encryption keys would be more useful?  

Privacy is a great concept.  I support it.  In fact, I personally believe the founders of Dropbox support it too.  The fact is that we don't live in a society that supports the concept of privacy once the government (or courts) has deemed information in our possession to be necessary to enforce laws or prevent terrorism.  if the US government wants your files, it's likely they'll get them - lawfully.  Challenging the laws of this country through defiance of the law has proven time and time again to be a very bad strategy, usually with dire consequences for those involved in the defiance.  Challenging the laws of the land in court and through legislative reform is a much better strategy, and one that often has positive lasting effecting.