White Hat Institute

Google Drive may begin locking your data in the near future

google drive
Retrieved from i.insider.com

A new policy has been released by Google for its Drive cloud service, which will eventually block access to documents that are believed to be in misconduct of the company’s regulations. Google will adopt a strategy to detect materials uploaded on its platform that violate its Terms of Service or abuse program policies, according to a recent post.

These documents will be immediately marked to their owner and banned, meaning they can no longer be published with others and access will be revoked for anyone other than the owner. “This will guarantee that owners of Google Drive files are properly informed about the condition of their stuff, as well as protecting users from malicious content,” the company stated.

The objective of the new policy, according to Google, is to protect its services from misuse. This broad definition includes cybercriminal activities — such as malware hosting, phishing, and other forms of online fraud, offensive language, and materials that may potentially harm children, as well as pornographic material.

In its policy statement, Google notes that they need to prevent violations that undermine their capacity to provide these services, and they urge that everyone comply with their policies to help them achieve their goal. If they are aware of a suspected policy violation, they may assess the content and take measures, including limiting or canceling a user’s access to Google products.

Filtering legal files from content that violates abuse policies, on the other hand, will be challenging. Google states in the policy statement that it may grant “exceptions based on artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific considerations,” implying that the procedure will include some editorializing. It’s easy to portray a situation in which users’ data are made unavailable for no apparent reason. It’s also uncertain whether taking intimate images of oneself, for instance, violates the abuse rules or falls within the “artistic” category.

While always maintaining privacy, Google Drive is continually trying to preserve the safe and secure environment of its users and society. Introducing these same safeguards to Google Drive, similar to how Gmail has always kept users safe from phishing and malware assaults, is important in ensuring Drive maintains as secure as possible for all users.

Nevertheless, no information was given about the possibility of content being misclassified.