Unless you live under a rock, you no doubt have heard or read about the recent scandal involving the US Government in connection with a questionable surveillance program that has been going on for quite some time now. This scandal has prompted some people to ask me if there is a way to circumvent the current measures in place that allow for government agencies to tap into the content of your emails, etc.

The answer is NO.

Disheartening as this might sound, it’s the bitter truth. The purpose of this article, however, is to adjust the viewpoint of the public at large. You have to be aware that a plain email sent over the internet is potentially readable by a) The provider (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, etc., and they at least normally search the contents of your emails for marketing purposes) and b) Uncle Sam (at least). So I would never write something in an email I wouldn’t mind other people than the recipient knowing about. 

Some savvy users might say, but what about encryption? If I send encrypted emails, only the recipient should be able to decipher them. While this is true to some degree, it would not stop Uncle Sammy from decrypting it, if he REALLY wants to know the contents of them.

At this point the battle could only be won at the legislative level. That’s the only way the game would change.