Surprised to see the harsh reactions to this
Yeah, sure, bloggers volunteer, just like 'old' media columnists, to have their ramblings preserved for as long as people would care to preserve it.
The people who read those blogs, columns, whatever, though, made no such agreement that they would like to have their intake of said material recorded forever.
Likewise, to all the mental midgets who have been using Gmail as a drop point for all their other email accounts should probably feel a bit uncomfortable that Google now has their own indexed copies of all your correspondence.
In twenty years, Google, and other data warehousing operations, will have political intelligence and manipulation abilities that Karl Rove can only dream of today.
You were a bit of a porn hound when you were sixteen? Too bad you're trying to be a congressman now.
You once put in a search for "DVD backup?" The MPAA's lawyers would like a word with you.
Ever joke over an instant messenger about smoking pot/pirating software/driving with expired tags?
Ever get a naughty pic from your girlfriend?
*Everyone* will someday have some aspects of their life which they would prefer remain private stored in some massive database, and soon. The only purpose of such a database is as a weapon, for discrediting or embarrassing people and organizations which threaten the interests which operate the databases, and their clients.
Who among us can say they would want every email they've ever sent, every website they've ever looked at, and every dumb thing they've ever done recorded and preserved, ready to be dropped into public view at the strategic whim of our modern feudal lords?
Government records are one thing, personal records are entirely another. I don't think the professor is correct when he says that new laws are the answer, however.
The answer, as it always has been, is that internet connected people need to take initiative for protecting their own privacy, the same way they've learned to protect things like their bank info, phone records, and the like. To simply assume digital records *don't* track every motion you make is naive in the extreme, and will be repaid at your later expense.