There are instances where government funding for a technical project is suspicious, like NSA paying RSA to set a weird default PRNG. This isn't one of them.
DARPA funding for independent businesses and research groups is very hands-off. That's the whole point. I can't think of a single recent case where a DARPA grantee even complained about improper pressure.
Been contracting with DARPA for nearly 9 years. 4 at another company and 5 at my company. Never had any issues with improper pressure. DARPA PM's are always a joy to work with and very focused on how the projects they fund will transition successfully into the commercial sector.
Whatever you think of advertising, it doesn't have to enable government spying. Moving ads to HTTPS would solve the eavesdropping problem. Google has already announced it's doing just that.
Also, it's not that simple for an Internet user to stop tracking or advertising. According to an academic paper from a few years back, there are dozens of ways to track a user, and many protections aren't very effective.
If entities on the internet are incentivized to track you, its likely the government can get the data whether or not it is encrypted in transit. (NSL, Hacking the company, blackmail, bribery, legal/business/tax threats, other court order)
(NSL, Hacking the company, blackmail, bribery, legal/business/tax threats, other court order)
That's how things used to work.
The government has always wanted to track specific people for specific reasons. Perhaps 1% (debatable) of the population. Like it or not, they will keep doing that.
What is abhorrent to me is that the government has decided to track 100% of the people 100% of the time. That's what everyone is fighting against.
DARPA funding for independent businesses and research groups is very hands-off. That's the whole point. I can't think of a single recent case where a DARPA grantee even complained about improper pressure.