Google 'reveals user' over Gmail child abuse images

[Iosif]

What do we think of this story?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28639628

"Google has revealed the identity of a user after discovering child abuse imagery in the man's Gmail account in Houston, Texas, according to a local news report.

It alerted a child protection agency, which notified the police and the man was arrested, KHOU 11 News reported."

[Never]

From a privacy standpoint it is concerning, but considering Google felt it was the right thing to notify a child protection agency without any pressure from law enforcement as far as I can tell, I believe that they did the right thing in this case. This information was being stored by the company, and as a business they were within their right to report that abusive content.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Well, the guy committed a crime. If you know that a crime is being committed, it is your duty to report it.

[King]

If somebody posted child pornography on the Atlas, I'd imagine the poster's IP and other info would be reported to authorities. Or at least we'd discuss taking action.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Google is a private company. When you use Gmail, you don't really have a "right to privacy" because 1.) you are voluntarily giving up your info, and 2.) as a private company they aren't really required to give you that right.

Google did the right thing here by turning this guy in for committing a crime. That is not debatable. But the article is correct in saying that Google, a company with an extremely large presence in hundreds of millions of peoples' daily lives with access to enormous amounts of information, needs to be very, very clear in their privacy policies and what they can do with your information.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://www.techlicious.com/blog/google-gmail-child-porn-image-scan/

[Lief 🗽]

Google is a private company. When you use Gmail, you don't really have a "right to privacy" because 1.) you are voluntarily giving up your info, and 2.) as a private company they aren't really required to give you that right.

I agree: we really need to consider nationalizing gmail. Also facebook probably.

[Lambsbread]

If somebody posted child pornography on the Atlas, I'd imagine the poster's IP and other info would be reported to authorities. Or at least we'd discuss taking action.

Is this what ya'll did with me?

[badgate]

If somebody posted child pornography on the Atlas, I'd imagine the poster's IP and other info would be reported to authorities. Or at least we'd discuss taking action.

There would definitely be a petition over on that one port of the forum where people are always posting petitions.

[free my dawg]

I have no problem with this. Nonces should be put behind bars.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I agree that it was the responsible thing for Google to do.

That being said, is it also responsible to report users who share movies and music files? Right now Google is being selective in what it reports. When does that change?

[dmmidmi]

I agree that it was the responsible thing for Google to do.

That being said, is it also responsible to report users who share movies and music files? Right now Google is being selective in what it reports. When does that change?

Google's actions look very conscience-based. It would take an awful lot of resources for Google to actively track down and report widespread illegal file-sharing. It looks like they determined that child pornography is clearly heinous enough to (to whatever extent) compromise user confidence in privacy, as it relates to using their products.

The best answer would be to not engage in illegal activities while using their products.

[Simfan34]

Google is a private company. When you use Gmail, you don't really have a "right to privacy" because 1.) you are voluntarily giving up your info, and 2.) as a private company they aren't really required to give you that right.

I agree: we really need to consider nationalizing gmail. Also facebook probably.

Gotta have our child porn! And give the NSA proprietary rights over our email while we're at it!

[Beet]

Sure, they did the right thing, but the amount of power Google has over the populace is disturbing. Even 40 or 50 years ago, if you had said that there would be one company with the power to peer into every piece of mail sent in the country, albeit a private company, people would still find it extremely upsetting.

[dead0man]

Google is a private company. When you use Gmail, you don't really have a "right to privacy" because 1.) you are voluntarily giving up your info, and 2.) as a private company they aren't really required to give you that right.

Google did the right thing here by turning this guy in for committing a crime. That is not debatable. But the article is correct in saying that Google, a company with an extremely large presence in hundreds of millions of peoples' daily lives with access to enormous amounts of information, needs to be very, very clear in their privacy policies and what they can do with your information.

That's what I came here to say.

Sure, they did the right thing, but the amount of power Google has over the populace is disturbing. Even 40 or 50 years ago, if you had said that there would be one company with the power to peer into every piece of mail sent in the country, albeit a private company, people would still find it extremely upsetting.

Except that isn't true at all.  Most people don't use gmail.  If I send you an email address from my .mil account and to your .edu account, how and why would Google see it?

[Хahar 🤔]

Plenty of .edu accounts (most, probably) use Gmail.

[dead0man]

News to me, but my point still stands.  EVERYBODY doesn't use gmail.  Internet traffic happens all the time that has nothing to do with Google.

[King]

Microsoft and Yahoo probably do it as well. Unless you own your own mail server, it's probably happening to you.

[Simfan34]

Gmail hardly is a monopoly:



Two years ago Gmail was ranked third, what's to say things won't change again?

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Gmail hardly is a monopoly:



Two years ago Gmail was ranked third, what's to say things won't change again?

lol AOL.

[dead0man]

Microsoft and Yahoo probably do it as well. Unless you own your own mail server, it's probably happening to you.

Indeed.  And since you are using their property, they have every right to do what they want with it (within the law of course).

Gmail hardly is a monopoly:



Two years ago Gmail was ranked third, what's to say things won't change again?

and that's just counting "webmail".  I'm not sure what the break down is (and Google isn't being helpful or my Google Fu is weak today), but I'd guess most "important" email isn't done via webmail.

[Beet]

40% of all webmail is still a freakishly large amount of information, especially when you consider that the amount of "mail" today is exponentially higher than it was 30 or 40 years ago. Back then, people either talked to one another on the phone or waited to meet in person. Besides, when you combine that with the fact that Google controls 90% of the search market, YouTube, the Chrome browser, and the android operating system (which could allow it to see all text messages, for instance) you get a system every bit as good as the one in George Orwell's 1984.

[dead0man]

Except it's easy to avoid if you're a tinfoil hat wearer.  So it's nowhere near as good as Orwell's.

[dmmidmi]

Google is a private company. When you use Gmail, you don't really have a "right to privacy" because 1.) you are voluntarily giving up your info, and 2.) as a private company they aren't really required to give you that right.

Google did the right thing here by turning this guy in for committing a crime. That is not debatable. But the article is correct in saying that Google, a company with an extremely large presence in hundreds of millions of peoples' daily lives with access to enormous amounts of information, needs to be very, very clear in their privacy policies and what they can do with your information.

That's what I came here to say.

Sure, they did the right thing, but the amount of power Google has over the populace is disturbing. Even 40 or 50 years ago, if you had said that there would be one company with the power to peer into every piece of mail sent in the country, albeit a private company, people would still find it extremely upsetting.

Except that isn't true at all.  Most people don't use gmail.  If I send you an email address from my .mil account and to your .edu account, how and why would Google see it?

The university I attended adopted Gmail five or six years ago.

[Deus Naturae]

I agree that it was the responsible thing for Google to do.

That being said, is it also responsible to report users who share movies and music files? Right now Google is being selective in what it reports. When does that change?

Probably never, since Google would lose a ton of users if it did that.