This whole thing feels like it's going to hit Google straight in the face like a ton of bricks.
At a minimum there is some serious streisand effect potential.
Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China
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Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China
#32Ryan Gallagher seems to own this story like John Carreyrou did Theranos. Pretty much every scoop about Dragonfly has been reported by him.
I began working on the Google DoubleClick Mozilla essay earlier in the year, though I am not as famous.
Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Many google engineers already knew that a great deal of information was being collected on them.
But this will bring home the reality of how it can be used against them. Just as they have helped to gather information that could be turned against ordinary people very easily.
> But this will bring home the reality of how it can be used against them.
It's not a bad point. But bear in mind that the worst Google employees face is being fired, or very unusually getting sued if you're at the executive level.
Chinese dissidents, on the other hand, face possible torture and/or years of hard labor prisons.
Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China
#34> "The Dragonfly memo reveals that a prototype of the censored search engine was being developed as an app for both Android and iOS devices, and would force users to sign in so they could use the service. The memo confirms, as The Intercept first reported last week, that users’ searches would be associated with their personal phone number. The memo adds that Chinese users’ movements would also be stored, along with the IP address of their device and links they clicked on."
This seems to be the direction for all users of Google. The new version of Chrome signs you into the browser even if you don't want to sign into the software itself. You can't really use Google's browsing device (Google Chrome) without providing your identity, if you ever want to sign into a Google website.
Support for Firefox is more important than ever.
Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China
#35Why is there no such outrage over google closely tacking search users in America?
Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China
#36Ouch. It must be really fun for Googlers to hear their company is working so hard to repress dissidents trying to reveal its secret project to help China repress dissidents.
Fact of the matter is that there is a Chinese internet and a US internet. Going forward there will be a Chinese internet, that some authoritarian countries will adopt that are a part of the Chinese sphere of influence. American companies, and the American government through them want a foothold on that internet. This is the only way for them to do so.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/20/eric-schmidt-ex-google-ceo-p...
Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China
#37> "The Dragonfly memo reveals that a prototype of the censored search engine was being developed as an app for both Android and iOS devices, and would force users to sign in so they could use the service. The memo confirms, as The Intercept first reported last week, that users’ searches would be associated with their personal phone number. The memo adds that Chinese users’ movements would also be stored, along with t…
Or you could just use Chromium.
Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China
#38>Emails demanding deletion of the memo contained “pixel trackers” that notified human resource managers when their messages had been read, recipients determined. This seems like the worst part (not that the rest is not bad), anyone has an idea of what this "pixel trackers" are and how they actually work?
Just want to throw out that pixel trackers are EXTREMELY common - you probably have an insane amount in your inbox now and a lot of email software uses them by default. Not saying this is okay, just giving that context.
I turn off downloading images by default. They'll have to work harder to know if I read my email.
Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
But this will bring home the reality of how it can be used against them. Just as they have helped to gather information that could be turned against ordinary people very easily.
Everyone knows that you can be fired or worse if you're caught leaking. It's part of employee training and there are many reminders. (Clearly, it's not working, but this is a wake up call for nobody.)
Everyone knows that you can be fired or worse if you're caught leaking.
But that’s not what’s happening. They are being reported to HR for even reading it or being aware of it. That’s why this is relevant. Just like the way Google tracks people everywhere on the web, and would gladly sell their browsing history to employers, insurers, anyone.
Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China
#40> "The Dragonfly memo reveals that a prototype of the censored search engine was being developed as an app for both Android and iOS devices, and would force users to sign in so they could use the service. The memo confirms, as The Intercept first reported last week, that users’ searches would be associated with their personal phone number. The memo adds that Chinese users’ movements would also be stored, along with t…
You can't really use Google's browsing device (Google Chrome) without providing your identity, if you ever want to sign into a Google website.
That makes total sense. Google is in the business of selling ads, this requires getting as much information as possible on users, through any means possible, software downloads, online services, it's all the same in the end.