Is "misleading content" going to be determined on a per-country basis? Will Google ban activists in Hong Kong from distributing "misleading content" about the PRC? How about people in Hungary sharing "misleading" resources for LGBT youth?
Google Drive bans distribution of “misleading content”
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Re: Google Drive bans distribution of “misleading content”
#592Simple solution: Google can delete whatever it wants for being "misleading content" but if they ever get it wrong, even in the slightest, 10% of Google's wealth is transferred to the aggrieved. If Google is so confident in its ability to be the sole arbitrator of truth for humanity, they should have zero issue with agreeing to this because it will be zero risk. Of course they will never agree to such a condition beca…
There is probably no binary wrong or right in some of the scenarios, you’d need a court to decide
Re: Google Drive bans distribution of “misleading content”
#593Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because the activists want tech companies to censor and control information.
Not all or even most. Tech platform censorship is just ranked lower on their list of issues/grievances. How do you think activists should be spending their time?
>Tech platform censorship is just ranked lower on their list of issues/grievances.
Yeah, I doubt that.
https://alphabetworkersunion.org/principles/mission-statemen...
>Social and economic justice are paramount to achieving just outcomes. We will prioritize the needs of the worst off. Neutrality never helps the victim.
That doesn't scream "end platform censorship" to me.
Re: Google Drive bans distribution of “misleading content”
#594Throwing in my comment like a penny down a wishing well: Google recently turned off my gmail because my google drive quota was exceeded . They were "protecting" me from myself, by denying me the ability to buy more storage. They refuse to accept any payment method until I deliver a passport photo to them. The problems here go a bit beyond them being the steward of information or arbiter of right vs wrong. They'll den…
They refuse to accept any payment method until I deliver a passport photo to them.
That seems like something worth supporting with screenshots and posting as its own thread. I've never heard of anyone needing a passport photo for a credit card transaction, at least not in the US.
Re: Google Drive bans distribution of “misleading content”
#595Earlier quoted context omitted.
The other truth is we're all outraged when these companies host some stuff that we don't like ... and get upset when they don't host the stuff we do like. Consumers aren't rational. Neither are their demands. I'm probably no more rational than anyone else, but I'm honest that I sure as hell don't want to give money to a service that is happy to host some violent folks content / garbage...
> The other truth is we're all outraged when these companies host some stuff that we don't like Please, speak for yourself. I think these companies should host absolutely everything[0]. Between 2010-2016 was the golden age for these companies actually being free and open. Edit: Within the law. To be honest, there is very little I see that should be censored beyond CP.
> Edit: Within the law. To be honest, there is very little I see that should be censored beyond CP.
Self harm, terrorism, revenge porn, fabricated news. Just to name a few.
Internet is very different from what we experienced in the 90s. The ingress barrier guaranteed good content (or at least entertaining content). Now the barrier to content submission has been lowered so much that really anything makes on the Web and this is not good. There are reasons, after all, for having locks on entrance doors, right?
I am quite happy that Google "got the message" from regulators that misinformation is a real danger and we should apply zero tolerance to web polluters.
Re: Google Drive bans distribution of “misleading content”
#596The road to hell is paved with "good intentions". We desperately need to find a globally adoptable alternative to google and the services that it provides. Docs, Sheets, Drive, etc. are fantastic services in that they work really well on a massive scale. However, Google's increasing role as an arbiter of right vs wrong and a steward of information puts too much power into the hands of one corporation, whose best inte…
I think your fundamental error is in the fact that you think that a private company (and market competition) can fix these issues. It seems that many people on HN are just waiting for the new Savior company, that will magically have incentives to fight for them instead of making money. It's like hoping for market competition create health regulation in the food industry. Turns out, not even Apple is that messiah, and…
The fundamental issue is companies dealing with out data when they should just be making hardware or software.
In the old days, computer companies made the hardware and government institutions used that to run the internet. This is how it should be. Companies should not be touching our data directly. They simply cannot handle the responsibility.
Re: Google Drive bans distribution of “misleading content”
#597The road to hell is paved with "good intentions". We desperately need to find a globally adoptable alternative to google and the services that it provides. Docs, Sheets, Drive, etc. are fantastic services in that they work really well on a massive scale. However, Google's increasing role as an arbiter of right vs wrong and a steward of information puts too much power into the hands of one corporation, whose best inte…
Quit or just admit you'd rather get paid. I have no problem ignoring calls from recruiters.
Re: Google Drive bans distribution of “misleading content”
#598The road to hell is paved with "good intentions". We desperately need to find a globally adoptable alternative to google and the services that it provides. Docs, Sheets, Drive, etc. are fantastic services in that they work really well on a massive scale. However, Google's increasing role as an arbiter of right vs wrong and a steward of information puts too much power into the hands of one corporation, whose best inte…
I think your fundamental error is in the fact that you think that a private company (and market competition) can fix these issues. It seems that many people on HN are just waiting for the new Savior company, that will magically have incentives to fight for them instead of making money. It's like hoping for market competition create health regulation in the food industry. Turns out, not even Apple is that messiah, and…
I'd say that this decision by Google stems from regulators and public opnion bashing against misinformation.
Private companies follow the wind of the policies that are there to coerce them. In this case, the policy that is being put in place is that misinformation is dangerous and should be countered.
In 5 years, misinformation could be relegated to Tor networks, where it belongs.
Re: Google Drive bans distribution of “misleading content”
#599Earlier quoted context omitted.
Google docs etc aren't even Google's inventions, Google just bought them. I think it's important to emphasize that, to dispel the notion that you need to be a big company to make a product like that.
I agree that you do not have to be a big company to make a product like that, but it seems like you have to be a big company in order to host and deliver it.
The question isn't whether you need to be a big company or not, it's where you're gonna get the money.
What you'd need to host/deliver something like Docs/Sheets is: a product team (2 QE, 8 SWEng, 3 SRE, 1 product owner), the product, some cloud infrastructure, and the capital to pay for it. You could go larger than that to build it, but that is plenty of people to run/maintain/support it. Assuming "large scale" is between 1M and 100M users, figure between $750K and $3M for infra. Combine that with median salaries for employees, and you're lookin' at between $1.75M and $4M (before taxes/business fees).
If you use the cheapest infrastructure and labor, you could do it for $500K. (it is mind-blowing how cheap offshore labor is. Google engineers get paid almost 8 times what some of our contractors get paid, for about the same work)
VCs throw that much cash around for a weekend trip to French vineyards. If you can actually get paying customers, even better.
Re: Google Drive bans distribution of “misleading content”
#600Just more censorship and gaslighting.