Government watchdogs across the ideological spectrum worry that a new Google feature — “expiring email” — will enable virtually untraceable bureaucratic and political cover-ups by making important official evidence simply disappear on command.
Google’s latest updates to its globally lauded email system includes a number of features likely to be popular among users, including “nudge” reminders to respond to unanswered messages “to help make sure nothing slips through the cracks,” product manager Matthew Izatt said Wednesday in a blog post.
“Finally, a new confidential mode allows you to remove the option to forward, copy, download or print messages — useful for when you have to send sensitive information via email like a tax return or your social security number. You can also make a message expire after a set period of time to help you stay in control of your information.”
Multiple federal laws and regulations make it illegal to destroy government documents, including emails concerning official business. But it’s unclear if the new Google feature would literally destroy a digital message or simply place it in a recoverable cache somewhere. – READ MORE