Huh? Google isn't protecting their employees...
First, lets clear the air. Google isn't protecting this employee. He's protecting himself.
Its in Google's own best interest in providing legal counsel to their employees since it will also mean that they get protected at the same time.
And its not the employee driving the car, but the employee who wrote the software that did the actual snooping.
You may be so forgiving, I on the other hand am not. Most homes have encryption turned off because the simple plug n play don't have the instructions set up or the installer from the cable/phone company are too lazy to set it up and then have to explain to the users how to get their machines online.
(Just like the Starbucks coffee shops with their free wi-fi that is unencrypted.)
So there is no excuse for a company who once used the slogan, 'Do no evil' is actually one of the evilest companies on the planet.
If you can forgive Google, do you forgive those who practice 'War Driving'? I mean, heck, you have to enforce the law equally. If you're going to make war driving a criminal offense, then explain how what Google did was different? Keep in mind, while we have no evidence that Google didn't review any of the data, that doesn't mean that they didn't. As to its value... if you think about it. Its very clear what they could do with it....
And to your last point. More accurate GPS... you really mean A-GPS. If you wanted more accurate GPS, then you'd have a better clock, receiver/antenna in your device. And there are other ways of enhancing your GPS accuracy if you install a radio receiver in your handset too.
(But lets not go there... ;-)