Google Drive Scans User Files for Copyright Infringement, Warning Issued for Stored Songs

Google Drive, despite being a private cloud storage service, follows copyright regulations closely. Users storing song files in Google Drive have received warnings from Google.

In these warnings, Google states:

Your file may violate the Google Drive usage agreement. The file "05 – You are always choosing.mp3" contains content that may infringe upon Google Drive's copyright infringement policy. Some functionalities associated with this file may have been restricted.

Files identified with copyright issues cannot be played or shared. However, Google hasn't prohibited direct downloads of such files, minimally impacting users overall.

Nonetheless, concerns arise regarding Google scanning users' private files for potential copyright infringements, a matter touching upon privacy issues. Google's likely method involves hash value comparisons; the service does not scan files directly but generates corresponding hash values. If a file's hash value matches one in an infringement database, Google notifies the user accordingly.

Regardless, Google needs to check user files, and generating hash values is one method of doing so. This approach likely poses no threat to most users' privacy while fulfilling Google's copyright-related functionalities.

Google Drive's usage agreement indeed specifies content related to copyright protection, including:

• Prohibition of Infringing Content: Users are not allowed to upload, store, or share any copyrighted material, trademarks, patents, or other intellectual property without authorization.
• User Responsibility: Users bear full responsibility for the content they upload. Google reserves the right to remove any content suspected of infringement.
• Copyright Complaints: Google provides a mechanism for copyright complaints. Copyright owners can file infringement complaints with Google, which has the authority to take action on the content in question.

Thus, when uploaded files have copyright issues, Google indeed has the authority to impose restrictions. In severe cases, Google can even ban user accounts to prevent further use of Google Drive.