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Google CTF 2019

capturetheflag.withgoogle.com

11–20 of 140 posts

Re: Google CTF 2019

#11
post #9
post #7

> Eligibility: The Contest is open to individuals who are (1) over the age of eighteen (18) at the time of entry; (2) not a resident of Quebec, Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, or Crimea; [1] Why Quebec is banned? https://buildyourfuture.withgoogle.com/events/ctf/#!?detail-...

Stringent local laws with respect to competitions. https://www.thebalanceeveryday.com/why-are-so-many-competiti...

> Why is Quebec excluded from the CTF? Local laws and regulations make it extremely challenging for us to run a competition open to residents of Quebec. We are truly sorry about this, and hope to change this in the future if possible.

Re: Google CTF 2019

#12
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stringent local laws with respect to competitions. https://www.thebalanceeveryday.com/why-are-so-many-competiti...

> Why is Quebec excluded from the CTF? Local laws and regulations make it extremely challenging for us to run a competition open to residents of Quebec. We are truly sorry about this, and hope to change this in the future if possible.

This aspect could be the real hurdle:

"Pay a fee of up to 10% of the sweepstakes' value, depending on who is allowed to enter."

So they would need to pay Quebec $3K just to have the competition available there, even if it is a global competition.

It sounds to me that Quebec have got to have some reason for these Quebec special laws. It has nothing to do with France, there has to be another reason. Does anyone have any ideas?

Re: Google CTF 2019

#13
> Q: I got an error: PERMISSION_DENIED: Permission denied.

> A: Try picking a different team name, the team name you inserted is already taken.

A: How to tell your software was built by security people.

Re: Google CTF 2019

#14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why is Quebec excluded from the CTF? Local laws and regulations make it extremely challenging for us to run a competition open to residents of Quebec. We are truly sorry about this, and hope to change this in the future if possible.

This aspect could be the real hurdle: "Pay a fee of up to 10% of the sweepstakes' value, depending on who is allowed to enter." So they would need to pay Quebec $3K just to have the competition available there, even if it is a global competition. It sounds to me that Quebec have got to have some reason for these Quebec special laws. It has nothing to do with France, there has to be another reason. Does anyone have an…

From a 2011 Globe and Mail article:

> Ever notice that Canadian contests keep barring the poor residents of Quebec from entering? It's not that contests are illegal in Quebec – it's just that the government makes it especially difficult to run one.

> For one thing, contest runners have to pay tax on the value of the prize. For another thing, contests with prizes over $2,000 have to register their rules with a government agency, the Régie des alcools des courses et des jeux – which is usually just referred to as the "Régie."

> To top it off, contests with prizes worth more than $5,000 actually have to deposit an amount as a security with the Régie, as a means of protecting consumers should the contest runner fold or renege.

> When compounded with the complexities of working in two languages at once, many contest runners simply disqualify entrants from the province.

Re: Google CTF 2019

#15
post #7

> Eligibility: The Contest is open to individuals who are (1) over the age of eighteen (18) at the time of entry; (2) not a resident of Quebec, Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, or Crimea; [1] Why Quebec is banned? https://buildyourfuture.withgoogle.com/events/ctf/#!?detail-...

Better question: why is under-18 banned?

Re: Google CTF 2019

#16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why is Quebec excluded from the CTF? Local laws and regulations make it extremely challenging for us to run a competition open to residents of Quebec. We are truly sorry about this, and hope to change this in the future if possible.

This aspect could be the real hurdle: "Pay a fee of up to 10% of the sweepstakes' value, depending on who is allowed to enter." So they would need to pay Quebec $3K just to have the competition available there, even if it is a global competition. It sounds to me that Quebec have got to have some reason for these Quebec special laws. It has nothing to do with France, there has to be another reason. Does anyone have an…

the laws were probably written with lotteries and gambling originally in mind, and made overly broad to prevent people from finding loopholes. (like, say, a poker tournament where the chips aren't worth real money, but there is a cash prize at the end.)

Re: Google CTF 2019

#17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why is Quebec excluded from the CTF? Local laws and regulations make it extremely challenging for us to run a competition open to residents of Quebec. We are truly sorry about this, and hope to change this in the future if possible.

This aspect could be the real hurdle: "Pay a fee of up to 10% of the sweepstakes' value, depending on who is allowed to enter." So they would need to pay Quebec $3K just to have the competition available there, even if it is a global competition. It sounds to me that Quebec have got to have some reason for these Quebec special laws. It has nothing to do with France, there has to be another reason. Does anyone have an…

Almost everything in Canada, every ad, promotion, service has some kind of special section for Quebec.

They insist on having completely different laws for every little thing. From a companies POV, its probably as legally onerous as operating in a different country altogether - not worth it.

Re: Google CTF 2019

#18
post #15
post #7

> Eligibility: The Contest is open to individuals who are (1) over the age of eighteen (18) at the time of entry; (2) not a resident of Quebec, Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, or Crimea; [1] Why Quebec is banned? https://buildyourfuture.withgoogle.com/events/ctf/#!?detail-...

Better question: why is under-18 banned?

Most likely for any contracts accepted to be legally binding.

Re: Google CTF 2019

#19
post #13

> Q: I got an error: PERMISSION_DENIED: Permission denied. > A: Try picking a different team name, the team name you inserted is already taken. A: How to tell your software was built by security people.

I would think it's more secure if it didn't leak which were taken. For example, "Name invalid or already taken, please try another"
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