I’m merely positing that in addition to one being afraid of centralized surveillance, one should also save some fear for decentralized “peeking” (ie. the Little in Little Brother) when one choses to adapt (and abuse) such technology.

You hit it on the nail about data having to be subpoenaed - such a scary fact. Maybe Google will run for office soon? But at the end of the day, it is the citizens who wind up spying on each other rather than BIG GOVT doing all the snitching.

Be afraid and pay your taxes on time.

You argue that we shouldn’t worry about Big Brother, but in addition to our Little Brothers knowing where we are, Google gets to know too. I like the way Google explains the features of Latitude:

With Google Latitude, you can:

* See where your friends are and what they are up to
* Quickly contact them with SMS, IM, or a phone call
* Maintain complete control over your privacy

That third one is a a feature. Usually it’s a clause in an EULA, but they’re obviously aware of how invasive the tech could be. I suspect that Google would turn over the data if given a subpoena. And they would certainly begin to explore location-based advertising (”why not stop by Starbucks on the corner? $.50 off a bagel for the next 10 minutes only!”)

Of course the telecoms already know where you are.

Latitude just lets you create a bunch of Little Brothers along with the Bigger ones already out there.