I'm not saying I agree with it as an idea, but Google has a history of doing hard things (indeed, was founded on a hard thing), and what about the American 'can-do' attitude when it comes to hard things?
As for personal privacy, new-world Anglo countries (where I am, and where most of the people on this site are) don't hold a candle to the history of pogroms that old-world countries have had, with the exception of treatment of first peoples. It's not just the Nazis and the Holocaust here, but a long history of terrorism and vigilantism. Europe still has wars (and similar) based on ethnicity - for example the Balkan states in the 90s, or eastern Ukraine going on right now. The last significant internal conflict in the new-world Anglosphere was 150 years ago. Europe has had a significantly different experience, which should be taken into context when understanding their decisions around privacy.
As for personal privacy, new-world Anglo countries (where I am, and where most of the people on this site are) don't hold a candle to the history of pogroms that old-world countries have had, with the exception of treatment of first peoples. It's not just the Nazis and the Holocaust here, but a long history of terrorism and vigilantism. Europe still has wars (and similar) based on ethnicity - for example the Balkan states in the 90s, or eastern Ukraine going on right now. The last significant internal conflict in the new-world Anglosphere was 150 years ago. Europe has had a significantly different experience, which should be taken into context when understanding their decisions around privacy.