WTF? What is it with California, really?
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California state senator on Monday said she was drafting legislation to block Google Inc.'s free e-mail service "Gmail" because it would place advertising in personal messages after searching them for key words.
"We think it's an absolute invasion of privacy. It's like having a massive billboard in the middle of your home," Sen. Liz Figueroa, a Democrat from Fremont, California, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
OK, maybe expanding my ire to include the entire state of California is a little much, but seriously. Does she know anything about GMail? Does she know that it's free, and that no one is being compelled to use it? Does she know that there are numerous other ways for users to get free email if they want it? Does she realize that everyone who uses GMail will be told that the keyword searching is going on, and will have to agree to it to use GMail?
I mean, come on. Maybe the Governator was right, and the state legislature really does have too much time on their hands, if they think it's really that important to stop the foul, evil Google from providing a free service - and what sounds like a vast improvement on traditional webmail - in exchange for a little targeted advertising.