German security chief: Stop using Google if you fear U.S. spying

If you’re one of the many Internet users worried about how American tech companies are helping the U.S government collect information, Germany’s security chief has some advice for you: Stay away from those American tech companies.

“Whoever fears their communication is being intercepted in any way should use services that don’t go through American servers,” Hans-Peter Friedrich, Germany’s internal security chief,  told reporters Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

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While Friedrich’s advice is self-evidently solid, avoiding American tech companies won’t really solve the problems of paranoid Europeans. Shortly after his PRISM leak, whistleblower Edward Snowden also revealed the existence of Tempora, a secret British spy created to tap directly into fiber optic cables. So while Europeans may try their best to avoid American companies, the spying problem isn’t exactly unique to the U.S or its tech companies.

“The accusations make it sound as if George Orwell’s surveillance society has become reality in Great Britain,” Germany’s Social Democrat leader Thomas Oppermann said last month.

Friedrich’s advice does, however, tap into a larger anti-Google sentiment among European countries, which aren’t too crazy about how big and powerful American tech companies have gotten over the past few years. France in particular has had it out for Google, particularly in regards to its new unified privacy policy.

My advice? If you’re really worried about your online communications being intercepted, it’s probably best to just keep them offline entirely.