In a case of technology outpacing expectations of privacy, White House deputy CTO and former Google lobbyist Andrew McLaughlin found his Google Buzz messages posted publicly online and now a watchdog wants his emails between him and his former employer.

After political gadfly website Big Government posted screenshots of McLaughlin's Buzz messages, the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog filed April 1 a FOIA request for copies of email correspondence between McLaughlin and Google.

"The appointment was troubling when it was announced, but signs that McLaughlin is continuing a cozy relationship with his former employer while serving in the top White House Internet policy job are even more disconcerting," said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate for Consumer Watchdog, in a press release.

"The public has a right to see exactly what sort of messages have been exchanged with his former employer and colleagues," Simpson added.

Online reaction to evidence of McLaughlin's ongoing communication with Google employees is mixed.

Big Government insinuated dark things. "What are they communicating privately about? Perhaps 'shaping policy that affects Google's rivals'?" states a post by an author called "Capitol Confidential."

The Register, unsurprisingly, cackled over the irony of a former Google executive having his privacy undermined by a Google product, especially in light of Google CEO Eric Schmidt's recent comment that "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."

eWeek Google Watch blogger Clint Boulton dismissed McLaughlin's Buzz posts as inconsequential. "Google isn't getting special treatment from the Obama administration. If anything, it's getting quietly railed," he wrote.

For more:
- see the Big Government blog post on McLaughlin's Google Buzz messages
- read the Consumer Watchdog press release, and its FOIA request (.pdf)
- here's The Register's blog post and the Google Watch blog post

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