Indeed. Put it this way, if you suspect a serial killer has taken residence in your neighborhood - are you going to wait around for a 'smoking gun' before making conscious decisions about your interactions with that individual?

So what's your alternative if every single one of your neighbors is a serial killer?

Like I said, I share your concerns about PRISM but singling out Google seems like losing the forest for a tree when we have abundant evidence that all the US tech giants have been forced to comply with NSA requests.

There's always another town. And likewise, so many alternatives to Google tech - and all solutions provided by the other 'giants'. Besides, this is an industry driven by technology & innovation. If there isn't a solution or an incumbent is dropping the ball - that's opportunity for geeks like us.

Besides that, why give them the benefit of the doubt anyway?

I have no qualms about singling out Google. Of all the 'giants' this is a company that has the most volume, quality, and relevant information on all of us. They need to be held accountable & scrutinized to the highest degree in the handling of said data. The fact that they are the company most active in their business relations & engagements with the intel sector should be ringing alarm bells.