> Google employs an automated system to scan user storage for violations of their ToS
So if I take pictures of my children in the bathtub with my Android phone, I am risking having my entire Google account deleted with no recourse except to try to 'make a stink on the internet'?
Because frankly, I would never take photographs to be developed at Walmart because they're well-known for calling the cops on parents who took pictures of their children.
What exactly is your complaint here? How do you expect a multinational corporation to deal with this sort of issue? How do they know that you're the parent, and not just some pervert who likes pictures of kids in bathtubs? I'm fully supportive of both Google and Walmart in this.
I'm a parent of four young kids, so I can appreciate that those tub pictures are adorable. If I really wanted that picture, I'll take the hassle of finding a smaller print shop willing to do it over enabling child pornography any day.
-- the police came and charged my tenant with selling drugs, so I kicked him out.
and
-- every day I obsessively searched through my tenant's belongings when he was at work to make sure he wasn't violating any laws, in my sole opinion, and then when I thought I found something illegal, I kicked him out.
Google can't judge what is or isn't child pornography. Lawyers and judges can't even do it. Nothing is child pornography, no matter how explicit, unless it appeals to the "prurient interest".
And in fact I'm not even located in the United States. The child pornography laws in my jurisdiction are less vague and more narrow than those of the United States. Is Google's crawler programmed with laws of every jurisdiction worldwide? I rather doubt it.
It would be perfectly legal for Walmart to take a non-proactive approach to photo developing. Machines do it all anyway - the only human step is picking up the stack of photos and putting them in an envelope. But Walmart has directed its employees to search through all photos, searching for kiddie porn, and to call the cops. That's a personal stance of Walmart's CEO.
Google is similarly protected - it has no legal liability in the United States for serving as a passive conduit for anything its users care to distribute. It's unfortunate that Google's CEO is adopting a similar stance.
So if I take pictures of my children in the bathtub with my Android phone, I am risking having my entire Google account deleted with no recourse except to try to 'make a stink on the internet'?
Because frankly, I would never take photographs to be developed at Walmart because they're well-known for calling the cops on parents who took pictures of their children.
Is Google the new Walmart?