> Stateside, hopefully the Supreme Court will side with privacy rights once those cases wind their way through the courts.
Don't hold your breath.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2855776/judge-give-nsa-unlimi...
Don't hold your breath.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2855776/judge-give-nsa-unlimi...
I'm actually heartened by the unanimous decision this past summer where the SC ruled against the carte blanche searching of cell phones when the cops make an arrest. The Chief Justice wrote the opinion and came down hard on the government. He actually wrote "We cannot deny that our decision today will have an impact on the ability of law enforcement to combat crime...Privacy comes at a cost."
Before a warrant, this non-distinction protects you, because this would be taken as a search of your personal effects.
If there's a search warrant, then the government has the powers to search your effects independent of where they are, so nothing's really changed and it aligns with the spirit of the law (instead of trying to hide behind technicalities).
Look at it this way. If your pot growing operation is visible from your neighbors window (just one person!) we say you can't reasonably expect privacy. Dillon v. Sup. Ct. How can we say data visible to your hundred closest sysadmin friends at CloudCo is private?