But if Google does try to manipulate people in significant ways without them knowing, eventually it will get out and people's trust in Google will be broken. That's why I don't think they'll risk doing it.
I mean, for instance, if they try to steal your credit card info by reading your emails and steal money from you. If they pull something like that off, it may work in short-term but definitely not in the long-term.
If they do, they can only get away with manipulating people once.
Of course they can manipulate in a smaller scale, in small and harmless ways (by showing you more ads of competitor A vs. competitor B), but I think we all accept that as it is already true today. By helping me find what I'm looking for faster, they're manipulating me into saving time.
So if Google ever betrays my trust on a large scale, I will stop using them.
I tried reading the [2] article and despite its length, I couldn't find very good arguments. I agree it's bad if the government knows more about you without you knowing about them or what they know. But if everyone knows everything, that's something I'm less concerned about.
If you really want to take a naked photo of me, I would ask "why would you want to? Seriously?" Even if you put it online for everyone to see, chances are no one will care. There's 6 billion other people who also have naked bodies.
