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Google Drive may restrict files identified as violating ToS

workspaceupdates.googleblog.com

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Re: Google Drive may restrict files identified as violating ToS

#61

Post by anamexis »

bencollier49 wrote: post #59
fs111 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty email providers out there. Free and paid. It should not be a problem for anyone to switch. Moving off of Gmail doesn't mean to self host. It is a bit of work to tell anyone about your new address, but that's it.

Changing upwards of 200 logins to use a new email address may be troublesome. Do you keep a list?

When I switched away from Gmail, I used my password manager to track the logins I needed to change. Then, just monitored the Gmail inbox for anything I missed.

Re: Google Drive may restrict files identified as violating ToS

#63

Post by r00fus »

fs111 wrote: post #55
r00fus wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really bothering when the account just also happens to be your core email service so suddenly you have no way of recovering other accounts. Moving off Gmail is likely impossible for most non-technical folks.

There are plenty email providers out there. Free and paid. It should not be a problem for anyone to switch. Moving off of Gmail doesn't mean to self host. It is a bit of work to tell anyone about your new address, but that's it.

What about the hundreds of other accounts that use your gmail as either the 2FA target or password reset?

For a non-technical user (like my mom), this is a herculean task.

Re: Google Drive may restrict files identified as violating ToS

#65

Post by jeffbee »

marcodiego wrote: post #42

We need a distributed volunteer backed free replacement. Is IPFS or gnunet ready for that yet?

Right, we need to trade a vanishingly small probability that anti-abuse systems at Google will flag your school photos as Al Qaeda propaganda for the much higher probability that your files hosted on an elaborate scheme operated mostly by 4chan users will be unavailable due to widespread malfunction, malice, and capriciousness.

Re: Google Drive may restrict files identified as violating ToS

#66

Post by everdrive »

Remember, this means Google has already been scanning and collecting the contents of your Google drive. All they’re talking about is applying a filter to certain files they find objectionable. Even without this announcement, this could happen at any time. If one day something you own is found to be illegal or objectionable, Google may delete it without notice. At worst, they may report you to the authorities.

Re: Google Drive may restrict files identified as violating ToS

#68

Post by archhn »

semenko wrote: post #9

I don't quite grasp the panic about this: my impression is Google currently restricts ToS violations from sharing (your own access is retained). The only change here is end-users will be explicitly notified (and can theoretically contest the decision).

The panic is people's fear of the Iron Heel[1]. For most of us, the systems we depend on are controlled by other people. In this chaotic political climate, when these systems start closing in on us, or restricting us in new ways, there's no way of knowing where the tightening will end. Some are incredibly insulated and have no worries about the kind of world we're living in, but others are constantly on edge and feel that we're sleepwalking into a dystopian nightmare. That's what this "panic" is about.

[1]: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1164/1164-h/1164-h.htm

Re: Google Drive may restrict files identified as violating ToS

#69

Post by howdydoo »

RankingMember wrote: post #15
mikece wrote: post #2

Google says you can request a review if you believe something should not have been flagged as a ToS violation but no mention is given to any rights you have. To me this reads as "You can request whatever you want but it might not mean anything in reality.": https://support.google.com/docs/answer/2463328 Conversely, the information for how to report what you perceive as a ToS violation is far more complete: https://su…

The "but you can request a review!" handwaving all these massive tech platforms use to assuage concerns about heavy-handed (and coldly automated) policy application is really long overdue for serious consumer protection regulation.

I like to imagine the AI spits out a line like this:

> Should we ban this user? YES

Then you request a review, and the support person double-checks that the output really does say "YES" and not "NO". Then they tell you they reviewed their decision.

Re: Google Drive may restrict files identified as violating ToS

#70

Post by jodrellblank »

dharmaturtle wrote: post #29
anshumankmr wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But seriously how long is it before Google implements a hashing algorithm (not too dissimilar from Apple's) to check if a user has not uploaded content with a copyright on it and taking some form of action on the user. This feels like a slippery slope to be on.

Apple's CSAM would scan your offline photos. Google scanning photos you upload to their cloud seems fine to me. Not a slippery slope.

> "Apple's CSAM would scan your offline photos."

No it wouldn't. It would only scan photos you upload to their cloud.

"This feature only impacts users who have chosen to use iCloud Photos to store their photos. It does not impact users who have not chosen to use iCloud Photos. There is no impact to any other on-device data."

and

"Does this mean Apple is going to scan all the photos stored on my iPhone? No. By design, this feature only applies to photos that the user chooses to upload to iCloud Photos, and even then Apple only learns about accounts that are storing collections of known CSAM images, and only the images that match to known CSAM. The system does not work for users who have iCloud Photos disabled. This feature does not work on your private iPhone photo library on the device."

- https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/CSAM_Detection_Techni...

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