* Microsoft scans and deletes stuff on your drive it believes is harmful [1]. There was also some indication a while back that they would delete 'pirated content' - i.e. anything some algorithm detects you "shouldn't have" [2].
* Google Drive have been deleting 'pirated content' for quite a while based on hashes [3]. I imagine other cloud services do this as well [4] and I recommend you do not sync your important files with such a service.
This was always on the cards. Next it will be 'terrorist materials', then it will be 'harmful content' and soon simply 'DMCA content' stored locally will be reported to the police. Freedoms definitely erode if not defended.
On a related note, projects like Pine64's Pinephone are early stages (read: difficult to daily drive) but definitely in the right direction [5]. Some day in the near future you will be able to get a decent mobile experience without having to worry about spyware/adware/malware.
> Google Drive have been deleting 'pirated content' for quite a while based on hashes [3].
> This week we received a tip from a reader who was unable to share a link to a screener copy of a Hollywood blockbuster. Instead of a public link, Google drive warned that sharing the file in question could violate its terms of service.
What you linked to says that GDrive prevents users from sharing pirated content, not using GDrive for storing them (or that GDrive was deleting them).
> What you linked to says that GDrive prevents users from sharing pirated content, not using GDrive for storing them (or that GDrive was deleting them).
I performed an experiment to test whether GDrive delete pirated content - they do.
[2]: Reqvim seems to have been sharing a modified binary (the original was created by someone else).
If you've experienced it I'm wondering if you might have uploaded it to a shared folder. But I'll keep your anecdote in mind, not too interested in reproducing it on my primary account, and not sure if enforcement would be different if I were to use a burner.
I'll also note that as mentioned by a commenter in [2], Google isn't required by DMCA to remove content on GDrive that isn't being shared, though this might be a user's breach of TOS.
> There was also some indication a while back that they would delete 'pirated content' - i.e. anything some algorithm detects you "shouldn't have" [2]
You should read the linked article more carefully. It makes an incorrect conclusion. IANAL, but if you read the EULA lines carefully, you'll see thst they're saying, basically, "We might auto-update software, which may incidentally break your pirated version, and we're sorry and don't want to get sued if this happens to you".
Ah, likely the wrong article. I have tried to find one that did state this but it doesn't surface now.
I do remember very clearly that Microsoft were deleting pirated version of Office on purpose and this EULA basically said "oops, we told you it might happen".
I think it's only a matter of time before this sort of thing finds it's way to Android phones, but I think there's a very clear line between scanning material that I'm uploading to a company vs. scanning material that is on a device that I ostensibly own.
> I think it's only a matter of time before this sort of thing finds it's way to Android phones, but I think there's a very clear line between scanning material that I'm uploading to a company vs. scanning material that is on a device that I ostensibly own.
The tools already exist and the legal framework is essentially in place - every time you go through border security you essentially are told "we can search everything on your person (including your device) and there is nothing you can do about it".
It's not such a stretch that some 'national security' enforcement is put in place. Imagine having the same applied to your work place or public transport. Essentially the same that is happening with vaccine passports, where the number of places you can go is slowly eroded to the point that you can't viably go to any public place any more.
New Zealand for example for many years have had the ability to perform a 'digital strip search' where they can force you to unlock your device [0]. If you live within the Five Eyes you can almost guarantee this is already in effect for you or will be soon.
On the plus side, this has led to some 'hilarious' stories where the TSA border security were physically searching a person for Bitcoin [1].
* Microsoft scans and deletes stuff on your drive it believes is harmful [1]. There was also some indication a while back that they would delete 'pirated content' - i.e. anything some algorithm detects you "shouldn't have" [2].
* Google Drive have been deleting 'pirated content' for quite a while based on hashes [3]. I imagine other cloud services do this as well [4] and I recommend you do not sync your important files with such a service.
This was always on the cards. Next it will be 'terrorist materials', then it will be 'harmful content' and soon simply 'DMCA content' stored locally will be reported to the police. Freedoms definitely erode if not defended.
On a related note, projects like Pine64's Pinephone are early stages (read: difficult to daily drive) but definitely in the right direction [5]. Some day in the near future you will be able to get a decent mobile experience without having to worry about spyware/adware/malware.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27914752
[2] https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/windows-10-w...
[3] https://torrentfreak.com/google-drive-uses-hash-matching-det...
[4] https://www.extremetech.com/computing/179495-how-dropbox-kno...
[5] https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/PinePhone