Google Drive Will Block Files That Violate New Terms Of Service

Google introduces new terms of service for its proprietary cloud storage Google Drive. The search giant made the announcement through a blog post that it will soon begin to restrict access to files that, in its opinion, are in violation of company policy. Google discloses that active steps will soon be taken to identify such files.

The search giant’s new terms of service policies or program policies reveal that such files considered as violating will be flagged by their owner and automatically restricted from sharing with other users. This means that only the owners can access them and will be closed to everyone else. Google reveals that this change will go a long way to help ensure that file owners are notified about the status of their files and also protect other users from content that is offensive. According to Google, the change in policy was introduced in a bid to offer protection against abuse of its services. Files classified as inappropriate include content from cybercriminals; such as malware, hate speech, sexually explicit documents, and files that could be dangerous to children. The company explained that “this will help ensure owners of Google Drive items are fully aware of the status of their content; while also helping to ensure users have protection from abusive content.”

Google says once notifications are received of a potential policy violation in its cloud system, the content of such file will be reviewed by the company’s experts. In the end, as stated in the policy document action taken may include “restricting access to the content; removing the content, and limiting or terminating a user’s access to Google products.” Users are hereby encouraged to avoid all forms of violation while using the cloud storage Google Drive. As stated in the policy document, “we need to curb abuses that threaten our ability to provide these services, and we ask that everyone abide by our policies to help us achieve this goal.”

Since Google has not clearly explained the criteria for identifying content that is considered inappropriate, experts have expressed much fear about how the new terms of service or program policy could potentially harm users for no good reason. We can all agree that curbing the spread of illegal material on Google Drive, be it pirated material or something considerably worse like child sexual abuse imagery, is a good idea, but there is a major need for clarity on some of the criteria. However, the search giant has also provided a review system for those users who consider it unfair that their files will be inaccessible.

According to the company “Google Drive is constantly working to protect the security and safety of our users and society while always respecting privacy. Similar to how Gmail has long kept users safe from phishing and malware attacks; bringing these same protections to Google Drive is critical in ensuring Drive remains as safe as possible for all users.”