Google is trying to make it a little harder for a determined stalker to spy remotely on their spouse, partner, or ex by prohibiting advertising for stalkerware apps on its services—with one giant loophole.
The search giant updated its advertising policy to say that effective August 11, the company will no longer allow "the promotion of products or services that are marketed or targeted with the express purpose of tracking or monitoring another person or their activities without their authorization." Notably, the ban does not include private investigation services or apps and services designed for parents to track or monitor their minor children.
[...] The popularity of "dual use" apps, as described by the study, also effectively makes Google's ban on stalkerware ads toothless, as many tracking apps already claim to have a legitimate use for parents or investigators.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Tuesday July 14 2020, @05:29AM (1 child)
If they stop allowing products or services whose express purpose is tracking and monitoring people and their activities without their authorization, Google will have to shut down their entire product line.
(Score: 5, Funny) by FatPhil on Tuesday July 14 2020, @07:22AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Interesting) by zeigerpuppy on Tuesday July 14 2020, @11:04AM (1 child)
Good is trying to get rid of the competition.
Only Alphabet must be the nameless owner of all data.
Total inference on the population under the guise of bro culture.
How do you know what Google is doing... a Google search doesn't work so well.
But what do they know about you?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @05:01PM
I don't understand what the big deal is.
They say "oh, China is spying on me." To the extent that their spying on me allows them to engage in identity theft in my name or access my bank account that's a problem.
Otherwise I don't live in China so they can't do anything against me. What are they going to do if they are secretly spying on me through my router that's made in China, are they going to discover that I criticize the Chinese government. I'll even criticize them openly, I'm not in China, I'm in the U.S., so they can't do anything. Again my real concern may be fraud against me or something like that but otherwise ...
I'm much more concerned about the U.S. government perhaps spying on me (though I don't do anything illegal but still).
I guess Google spying on me is more relevant to me than China spying on me but to what extent should I really be worried and why.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday July 14 2020, @11:22AM
Google and Gubbermint are quite a bit alike. "We have all these cool toys that we like to play with, but you, Mr. and Mrs. Citizen, cannot use these toys in any manner that we don't approve of."
When cool stuff is discovered, or invented, mankind puts that stuff to use in all manner of ways. Starting with sharp stones, and fire, the wheel, and things that float, people have used discoveries for good, and for bad. Nothing is going to change, and neither Google nor Gubbermint are going to get control over it.
What, Google thinks that living in the "information age" was supposed to guarantee some Utopia?