So at least for now, 'Don't Be Evil' is still operational.
Attempting to quell concerns that it intends to assert ownership over the private data stored on Google Drive, Google is clarifying that language in the service's terms and conditions suggesting that policy is simply standard legal language designed to ensure their ability to deliver requested services to users. "Our terms of service enable us to give you the services you want," the company said in a statement last week, "so if you decide to share a document with someone, or open it on a different device, you can."
At issue is a passage in the terms of service, highlighted by concerned users soon after the service launched on April 24, which says using Google Drive grants the company "a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content." This language seems to state fairly clearly that storing your data with Google grants them permission to do whatever they want with it. This led even the New York Times to issue a warning to staffers not to use Google Drive until the terms of service were more clearly understood.
As it turns out, the terms of service actually contains language that appears to nullify that risk. "Some of our services allow you to submit content," Google says in its disclosure. "You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours."
That's excellent news for aspiring screenwriters storing their adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey. However, the bigger question is what Google may do with the information you store publicly. In essence, if you make it public, there's a chance Google might use it somehow, to promote their services, demonstrate them, or perhaps use in some other nefarious(ish) way. PC Magazine put it best when they said, regarding the terms of service, that 'Lazy people should worry.' Google probably won't be using your Stargate fan fiction any time soon, but it's probably best that you keep everything you store on Google Drive private.
I totally agree but the alternatives have already been too greedy. When Google starts to put out products that only work with Chrome I'll start searching for another all-in-one solution for my Internet-connected life. Hopefully one that will import everything from Google in a click.
Start to get big? They have been big. ATM, they have shares at over 600 each. I do not see your evidence that Google is o the brink of becoming "greedy".
Yeah I was reading, for example, that they supposedly use your uploaded pictures to aid Google Goggles...which seems to fall under the 'improve our services' clause. I wonder if serving you more 'relevant' ads is also considered to improve their 'services'.
is that what google is doing opposite to it's service ?
what do you think it's another way to collect personal information !
I also avoid using ad engines on my website as I have little control of what they display. I would not want to promote questionable things that friends, children and family could be victimized by e.g. "work at home" "meds and enhancements" "meet girls".
No, thank you, I do not want to see my relatives' faces -- especially those who have since passed away -- in an ad for Google+ or whatever else they happen to be pushing at the time.
Google like any other copany NEEDS to make money so you are free to find another service with the policy that most suits you and pay them what they ask.
And even those, due to their politically incorrect nature, are better encrypted.
My apologies to all Blonde readers; we know that not all of you put postage stamps on your faxes :-)
the cloud is for ignorant people & people who willfully seek to participate in the destruction of their own civil liberties and constitutional rights to privacy.
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/26/targeted_hacker_jacob_appelbaum_on_cispa
No, they are not. And no, it's not.
It's our responsibility to ensure we fight for the proper protection of our rights and for the just use of technological evolution. The Cloud is nothing more than a technological tool. One we need to defend and protect against misuse, like every other technological tool before it; from fire to genetics.
You don't do yourself any good by simply pushing it aside and failing to acknowledge the people that use or may need to use it. You don't think your activism is a form of action. You will fail by inaction. The real action is in protecting technological innovation, not ignoring it.
Then how come Microsoft or Dropbox don't have this kind of ToS?
Dropbox:
"Your Stuff & Your Privacy: By using our Services you provide us with information, files, and folders that you submit to Dropbox (together, "your stuff"). You retain full ownership to your stuff. We don't claim any ownership to any of it. These Terms do not grant us any rights to your stuff or intellectual property except for the limited rights that are needed to run the Services, as explained below."
Windows Sky Drive
"5. Your Content: Except for material that we license to you, we don't claim ownership of the content you provide on the service. Your content remains your content. We also don't control, verify, or endorse the content that you and others make available on the service."
Translation: "Don't worry about the fine print, that's just a standard thing our lawyers do"
Fuck that. I'll stay with Dropbox, whose terms of service are clear: Dropbox doesn't own your stuff. Or get a license. End of story. Google needs to change its terms, then I'll consider them.
License and warranty for your submissions to LinkedIn.
You own the information you provide LinkedIn under this Agreement, and may request its deletion at any time, unless you have shared information or content with others and they have not deleted it, or it was copied or stored by other users. Additionally, you grant LinkedIn a nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual, unlimited, assignable, sublicenseable, fully paid up and royalty-free right to us to copy, prepare derivative works of, improve, distribute, publish, remove, retain, add, process, analyze, use and commercialize, in any way now known or in the future discovered, any information you provide, directly or indirectly to LinkedIn, including, but not limited to, any user generated content, ideas, concepts, techniques or data to the services, you submit to LinkedIn, without any further consent, notice and/or compensation to you or to any third parties. Any information you submit to us is at your own risk of loss as noted in Sections 2 and 3 of this Agreement.
It was quickly changed once noticed but I have avoided using Google products since, even trying different search engines.
...
Why use Google at all?