I guess the difference between You using procmail and Google scanning Your mail is that Google is a third party. Sure, it's being done for You, but they're still a third party. I think Mark's point about the subpoena issue is a decent one.

You sound like You know something about law, and i have to admit that i don't, but i can tell You that here in Germany the mailroom is not allowed to read our mail without our explicit consent. The mailroom had to get the permission of every single employee to open mail and check it for anthrax during the anthrax scare a couple of years ago. The US has undoubtedly been more relaxed about issues like that, but i suspect that the laws are such that the same legal arguments could be made on this point in America as in Germany.

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