Comment Except that it's a protocol, not a server (Score 4, Interesting) 100
Google "Chat" is a protocol much like "SMS". It's not a service in and of itself but the underlying carriage for services to ride on top. Those services should absolutely include encryption but that is not the protocol's job to handle.
"Joe Westby is Amnesty International's Technology and Human Rights researcher"
Sounds like this research should do a little more research.