Privacy just got another Silicon Valley makeover, and it’s not looking cute. A Mountain View startup called GovGPT is pulling a digital creep move by requesting access to residents’ emails from several South Bay cities - all in the name of “civic engagement”.

The company wants to peek into correspondence sent to city officials in San Jose, Santa Clara, Milpitas, and Mountain View over the past few years. Their pitch? They’ll use these emails to “streamline” how local government communicates. But let’s be real - we’ve heard that tech buzzword before.

The Privacy Predicament

Local privacy experts are raising major red flags about this data grab. The biggest concern? These emails could potentially be sold without residents’ consent, turning personal communication into a corporate commodity faster than you can say “data breach”.

The Silicon Valley Shuffle

This isn’t just another tech company playing fast and loose with personal information. It’s a stark reminder of how easily our digital footprints can be transformed into profit. GovGPT’s silence on our questions only adds more suspicion to an already sketchy situation.

The Bigger Picture

As AI continues to evolve, so do the creative ways companies attempt to harvest our personal data. Today it’s emails, tomorrow… who knows? One thing’s certain: in the tech world, your privacy is always up for negotiation.