company:google inc.

  • The future is here today : you can’t play Bach on Facebook because Sony says they own his compositions
    https://boingboing.net/2018/09/05/mozart-bach-sorta-mach.html

    James Rhodes, a pianist, performed a Bach composition for his Facebook account, but it didn’t go up — Facebook’s copyright filtering system pulled it down and accused him of copyright infringement because Sony Music Global had claimed that they owned 47 seconds’ worth of his personal performance of a song whose composer has been dead for 300 years. This is a glimpse of the near future. In one week, the European Parliament will vote on a proposal to force all online services to implement (...)

    #Sony #Facebook #algorithme #ContentID #Robocopyright #censure #filtrage

    • his personal performance

      On doit bien pouvoir dire que c’est bien son interprétation à lui, sur son instrument à lui, qui a été reconnue comme un plagiat d’un enregistrement de Sony.

      Et là, c’est une des références du texte : le chercheur publie des enregistrements antérieurs dans le domaine public, reconnus simplement par la signature musicale...

      Les contrôleurs vont faire valoir que c’est un risque à courir afin de défendre les bases de notre civilisation... et que l’intelligence artificielle va s’améliorer... et qu’il y a une procédure d’appel.

      Can Beethoven send takedown requests ? A first-hand account of one German professor’s experience with overly broad upload filters – Wikimedia Foundation
      https://wikimediafoundation.org/2018/08/27/can-beethoven-send-takedown-requests-a-first-hand-account-of-on

      I decided to open a different YouTube account “Labeltest” to share additional excerpts of copyright-free music. I quickly received ContentID notifications for copyright-free music by Bartok, Schubert, Puccini and Wagner. Again and again, YouTube told me that I was violating the copyright of these long-dead composers, despite all of my uploads existing in the public domain. I appealed each of these decisions, explaining that 1) the composers of these works had been dead for more than 70 years, 2) the recordings were first published before 1963, and 3) these takedown request did not provide justification in their property rights under the German Copyright Act.

      I only received more notices, this time about a recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.5, which was accompanied by the message: “Copyrighted content was found in your video. The claimant allows its content to be used in your YouTube video. However, advertisements may be displayed.” Once again, this was a mistaken notification. The recording was one by the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Lorin Maazel, which was released in 1961 and is therefore in the public domain. Seeking help, I emailed YouTube, but their reply, “[…] thank you for contacting Google Inc. Please note that due to the large number of enquiries, e-mails received at this e-mail address support-de@google.com cannot be read and acknowledged” was less than reassuring.

  • Local Guides
    https://maps.google.com/localguides/rules
    Warum wir nicht dabei sind, lesen Sie hier: Google befiehl, wir folgen dir ist nicht unsere Devise. Dann sind wir schon eher Gegen-Google.
    http://www.anti-google.de

    Aber Sie lesen den Kwatsch wahrscheinlich auch nicht. Nutzen Sie Google dennoch? Dann sollten Sie einen kurzen Blick auf https://tosdr.org werfen.

    Local Guides Program Terms and Conditions
    By signing up to the Local Guides program, you agree to be bound by the following: (1) the Google Terms of Service (the “Universal Terms”); and; (2) the additional terms and conditions set forth below (the “Additional Terms”). You should read each of these two documents, as together they form a binding agreement between you and Google Inc. regarding your participation as a Local Guide in the Local Guides program (the “Program”) and your use of Google’s products and services. Collectively, the Universal Terms, the Code of Conduct, and the Additional Terms are referred to as the “Terms.”

    Who is qualified to be a Local Guide?
    In order to participate in the Program as a Local Guide, you must:

    have a valid Google account;
    be at least 18 years of age; and
    have signed up to participate in the Program here
    Organizations, brands, and businesses are not eligible for the Program. If you offer services for hire (such as marketing yourself as a Street View trusted provider), you are not allowed to bundle such services with your Local Guide membership.
    Local Guides contributions and levels
    As a Local Guide, you will be placed into a level based on how much local content you contribute on Google, including how many high-quality contributions you’ve shared on Google since creating your Google account. Level requirements and descriptions are subject to change, at Google’s sole discretion.

    Contributions are considered “High Quality” when they adhere to the guidelines described in our help center or as otherwise provided by Google. From time to time, Google may elect, at its sole discretion, to promote your membership in the Program, for example, by including Local Guide badge(s) or icon(s) on your profile or contributions and featuring you and your content in other channels related to Google and its affiliates/partners. Perks and early access to features are offered at the discretion of Google and its affiliates/partners. Individuals who do not meet any eligibility requirements specified by Google or its partners (for example, age requirements) will not have access to or be given certain perks.

    Some Local Guides may receive invitations to attend special events held by Google ("Events"). At some Events, you may be permitted to bring a guest (as indicated by Google). Event invitations are limited to only Local Guides (and, if applicable, their guest(s) who meet the legal drinking age in the Event city. You must share these terms with your guest prior to bringing your guest to an Event.

    Events, perks, and early access rules are subject to change at anytime and without advance notice.

    Limited or no Perks

    Some participants may be ineligible for some or all perks, including persons who are:

    residents of US embargoed countries;
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    government officials, including (1) government employees; (2) candidates for public office; and (3) employees of government-owned or government-controlled companies, public international organizations, and political parties.
    Appropriate conduct and participation
    You must comply with the Universal Terms. By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree that when using Google’s products or services, you will not:

    defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten, or otherwise violate the legal rights (including the rights of privacy and publicity) of others;
    solicit, collect or require the personal information of others;
    upload, post, email, transmit, or otherwise make available any unlawful, inappropriate, defamatory, or obscene content or message;
    trespass, or in any manner attempt to gain or gain access to any property or location where you do not have a right or permission to be;
    upload, post, or otherwise make available commercial messages or advertisements, pyramid schemes, or other disruptive notices;
    impersonate another person or entity;
    promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities;
    promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual;
    transmit any viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses, or any items of a destructive nature; or
    submit fake, falsified, misleading, or inappropriate reviews, edits or removals.
    Local Guides must comply with any Event rules or regulations, as well as applicable law, while attending an Event.

    Google may remove a Local Guide from the Program at any time, in its sole discretion.

    Local Guides must abide by Google’s Anti-Harassment policy both as part of the Program and at Events. Local Guides will be held accountable for the actions of any guests they invite to Events and may be removed from the Program based on the actions or behavior of their guests.

    Contributions to Google Maps must originate from a single Google account to count towards benefits and cannot be transferred between owned accounts.

    You must not at any time represent yourself in any way as a Google employee or a representative of Google or its products or services.

    The Local Guides logo is a Google brand identity and is reserved for official use only. Do not use the Local Guides logo, pin, or any other Google imagery in any of your online or offline materials without expressed written permission.

    If you do organize or arrange to meet with other Local Guides, independently or through the Local Guides’ Meet-Up Site, you agree and acknowledge that Google is not responsible for organizing, financing, supporting or otherwise facilitating your meeting. Google may, at its discretion, allow you to post details of a meeting on Google products or services, but such events must be clearly marked as not sponsored by Google. Google is not, in any way, liable for any loss or damage suffered at any meetings.

    Local Guides Connect Content Policy
    Local Guides Connect (collectively referred to as “Connect”) is a platform that enables people from diverse backgrounds to start conversations, share experiences, provide feedback, and plan online/offline activities. Our policies play an important role in maintaining a positive experience for Local Guides on Connect (collectively referred to as the “Services”). Please follow these policies as you:

    Use Connect to interact with Local Guides from around the world
    Share content such as posts, photos, videos, etc.
    Send public and private messages on Connect
    Share feedback and send feature requests to Google
    Use Connect to plan or participate in offline activities/meet-ups such as photo walks, food crawls, geo walks, map editing sessions, etc.
    Gain access to all/select boards where privileged information may be shared
    We depend heavily upon Local Guides to let us know about content that may violate our policies. After we are notified of a potential policy violation, we may review the content and take action, including restricting access to the content, removing the content, and limiting or terminating a Local Guides’ access to Connect, the Local Guides program, and/or Google products or services. Note that we may make exceptions to these policies based on artistic, educational, or documentary considerations, or when there are other substantial benefits to the public from not taking action.

    We occasionally modify these policies, so please check back here for any updates. Beyond the policies listed below, note that several products and features may have additional policies and terms — please check the links provided for those additional requirements.

    Google Maps, Google Earth, and Street View Terms of Service
    Maps/Google Earth additional terms
    Google Maps/Google Earth Legal Notices
    Google Privacy Policy
    Google Maps API
    Google Terms of Service
    Confidential information: Local Guides may gain access to confidential information about the Local Guides program or Google products and services before they are publicly available. Such information must not be disclosed without permission from Google.
    Illegal Activities: Do not use our Services to engage in illegal activities or to promote activities that are dangerous and illegal, such as terrorism, the sale of illegal drugs, or human trafficking. We may also remove content that violates applicable local laws. To report content that you believe should be removed based on local laws, click here.
    Malicious and Deceptive Practices: Do not transmit viruses, malware, or any other malicious or destructive code. Do not distribute content that harms or interferes with the operation of the networks, servers, or other infrastructure of Google or others. Do not use our Services for phishing scams.
    Hate Speech: Our products are platforms for free expression. But we don’t support content that promotes or condones violence against individuals or groups based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, nationality, veteran status, or sexual orientation/gender identity, or whose primary purpose is inciting hatred on the basis of these core characteristics. This can be a delicate balancing act, but if the primary purpose is to attack a protected group, the content crosses the line.
    Harassment, Bullying, and Threats: Do not engage in harassing, bullying, or threatening behavior, and do not incite others to engage in these activities. Anyone using our Services to single someone out for malicious abuse, to threaten someone with serious harm, to sexualize a person in an unwanted way, or to harass in other ways may have the offending content removed or be permanently banned from using the Services. In emergency situations, we may escalate imminent threats of serious harm to law enforcement. Keep in mind that online harassment is also illegal in many places and can have serious offline consequences for both the harasser and the victim.
    Personal and Confidential Information: Do not distribute your own or other people’s personal and confidential information, such as credit card numbers, confidential national ID numbers, or account passwords, without explicit permission. Do not post or distribute images or videos of minors without the necessary consent from their legal representatives. Report a violation
    Child Exploitation: Do not upload or share content that exploits or abuses children. This includes all child sexual abuse imagery (even cartoon images) and all content that presents children in a sexual manner. We will remove such content and take appropriate action, which may include disabling accounts and reporting to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and law enforcement. Note that this policy may additionally apply to any content uploaded or transmitted through our Services. If you find any content that you think exploits children in this manner, do not reshare, or comment on such content, even if your intent is to bring it to Google’s attention. Instead, flag the content through the ‘Report Abuse’ link. If you find content elsewhere on the internet, please contact NCMEC directly.
    Spam: Do not spam, including by sending unwanted promotional or commercial content, or unwanted or mass solicitation. Do not repeatedly message people that you do not know.
    Ranking Manipulation: Do not manipulate ranking or relevancy using techniques like repetitive or misleading keywords, tags, message labels, or metadata.
    Sexually Explicit Material: Do not distribute sexually explicit or pornographic material. Do not drive traffic to commercial pornography sites. We do allow naturalistic and documentary depictions of nudity (such as an image of a breastfeeding infant), as well as depictions of nudity that serve a clear educational, scientific, or artistic purpose.Note that your Connect profile photo cannot include mature or offensive content. For example, do not use a photo that is a close-up of a person’s buttocks or cleavage.
    Violence: Do not distribute depictions of graphic or gratuitous violence.
    Regulated Goods and Services: Our Services enable discussion of many topics, but we do not allow content that facilitates the sale of regulated products and services, including alcohol, gambling, pharmaceuticals and unapproved supplements, tobacco, fireworks, weapons, or health/medical devices. If we receive a complaint that such content is targeting audiences in violation of applicable laws and regulations, we may remove or restrict the offending content or account.
    Impersonation: Do not use our Services to mislead or confuse Local Guides by pretending to be someone else or pretending to represent an organization you do not represent. Some products have additional guidelines.
    Account Hijacking: Do not access or attempt to access another Local Guide’s account.
    Use of Multiple Accounts: Local Guides may participate in the program with one account. Do not create or use multiple accounts to evade our policies or bypass blocks or otherwise subvert restrictions placed on your account. For example, if you’ve been suspended for abuse, don’t create a replacement account.
    About Our Policies and Terms: These policies apply generally to the content you post on Connect. Some Google Services have their own separate policies that can be found within those services and apply to your use of them. All Google products and services are governed by their applicable terms of service.
    Reporting Potential Issues: If you encounter content or a Local Guide that you believe violates the above policies, please report it to us using the “Report Inappropriate Content” feature but clicking on the three dots on the top right hand corner of the postlink (or similarly named link).
    Photographic, audio and video recording release
    By attending any Event, you understand and agree on behalf of yourself and your guest that you consent to and authorize the use and reproduction by Google, or anyone authorized by Google, of any and all photographs, audio, or video recordings that have been taken of you during the course of an Event for any purpose, without compensation of any kind. All negatives, positives and digital copies, together with the prints, are owned by Google. Google reserves the right to use these recordings or images in any of its print or electronic publications.

    Disclaimer of warranties
    YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF GOOGLE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES WILL BE AT YOUR SOLE RISK. GOOGLE MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ITS PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GOOGLE, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND LICENSORS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN CONNECTION WITH THE PRODUCTS, THE CONTENT AND YOUR USE THEREOF.

    BY ATTENDING ANY EVENT, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF AND YOUR GUEST THAT ATTENDANCE AT AND PARTICIPATION IN EVENT IS VOLUNTARY, POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS, AND MAY INVOLVE A RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY, DEATH, AND/OR PROPERTY DAMAGE. ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF, YOUR HEIRS, ASSIGNS, AND NEXT OF KIN, YOU WAIVE ALL CLAIMS FOR DAMAGES, INJURIES AND DEATH SUSTAINED TO YOU OR YOUR PROPERTY, THAT YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST THE GOOGLE, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND LICENSORS TO SUCH ACTIVITY WHETHER CAUSED BY THE ORDINARY NEGLIGENCE OF THE SUCH PARTIES OR OTHERWISE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ACTS OF GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT AS INDICATED ABOVE.

    Local Guides (and, if applicable, their guests) must assume full responsibility for any such risk. Each Local Guide (and any guest of a Local Guide) is solely responsible for his or her own safety and well-being while participating in or attending an Event, and is solely responsible for any costs incurred if medical treatment is necessary. At some Events, Google may require you and your guest to sign additional releases.

    #Google #Berlin #Stadtführung

  • Computer vision uncovers predictors of physical urban change
    http://www.pnas.org/content/114/29/7571.full


    Fig. 1.
    Computing Streetchange: (A) We calculate Streetscore, a metric for perceived safety of a streetscape, using a regression model based on two image features: GIST and texton maps. We calculate those features from pixels of four object categories—ground, buildings, trees, and sky—which are inferred using semantic segmentation. (B–D) We calculate the Streetchange of a street block as the difference between the Streetscores of a pair of images captured in 2007 and 2014. (B) The Streetchange metric is not affected by seasonal and weather changes. (C) Large positive Streetchange is typically associated with major construction. (D) Large negative Streetchange is associated with urban decay. Insets courtesy of Google, Inc.

    Significance
    We develop a computer vision method to measure changes in the physical appearances of neighborhoods from street-level imagery. We correlate the measured changes with neighborhood characteristics to determine which characteristics predict neighborhood improvement. We find that both education and population density predict improvements in neighborhood infrastructure, in support of theories of human capital agglomeration. Neighborhoods with better initial appearances experience more substantial upgrading, as predicted by the tipping theory of urban change. Finally, we observe more improvement in neighborhoods closer to both city centers and other physically attractive neighborhoods, in agreement with the invasion theory of urban sociology. Our results show how computer vision techniques, in combination with traditional methods, can be used to explore the dynamics of urban change.

    Abstract
    Which neighborhoods experience physical improvements? In this paper, we introduce a computer vision method to measure changes in the physical appearances of neighborhoods from time-series street-level imagery. We connect changes in the physical appearance of five US cities with economic and demographic data and find three factors that predict neighborhood improvement. First, neighborhoods that are densely populated by college-educated adults are more likely to experience physical improvements—an observation that is compatible with the economic literature linking human capital and local success. Second, neighborhoods with better initial appearances experience, on average, larger positive improvements—an observation that is consistent with “tipping” theories of urban change. Third, neighborhood improvement correlates positively with physical proximity to the central business district and to other physically attractive neighborhoods—an observation that is consistent with the “invasion” theories of urban sociology. Together, our results provide support for three classical theories of urban change and illustrate the value of using computer vision methods and street-level imagery to understand the physical dynamics of cities.

    • Data and Methods
      We obtained 360∘ panorama images of streetscapes from five US cities using the #Google_Street_View application programming interface. Each panorama was associated with a unique identifier (“panoid”), latitude, longitude, and time stamp (which specified the month and year of image capture). We extracted an image cutout from each panorama by specifying the heading and pitch of the camera relative to the Street View vehicle. We obtained a total of 1,645,760 image cutouts for street blocks in Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, New York, and Washington, DC, captured in 2007 (the “2007 panel”) and 2014 (the “2014 panel”).* We matched image cutouts from the 2007 and 2014 panels by using their geographical locations (i.e., latitude and longitude) and by choosing the same heading and pitch. This process gave us images that show the same place, from the same point of view, but in different years (Fig. 1 B–D).

  • On YouTube, Amateur Is the New Pro - The New York Times
    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/magazine/on-youtube-amateur-is-the-new-pro.html

    Odell’s destination was the Manhattan office of Google Inc., YouTube’s corporate parent. He was among the 25 winners of a competition called Next Up, which is aimed at “accelerating the growth of the next big YouTube stars,” as an official YouTube blog explained. The prize included four days of tips and training from “YouTube experts” in New York. It also included a $35,000 check, no strings attached.

    #YouTube #histoire #Youtubers

  • Bruxelles pourrait attaquer Alphabet (#Google) sur de nouveaux dossiers
    http://www.latribune.fr/technos-medias/bruxelles-pourrait-attaquer-alphabet-google-sur-de-nouveaux-dossiers-51694

    Si Google est le dénominateur commun dans différentes affaires sur lesquelles enquête la Commission européenne, cela ne veut pas dire qu’en résoudre une, c’est les résoudre toutes, a prévenu la commissaire européenne à la Concurrence Margrethe Vestager dans une interview.

    Alphabet, maison-mère de Google, a du souci à se faire en Europe. Alors que Bruxelles accuse le géant américain de position dominante avec son moteur de recherche, mais aussi avec son système d’exploitation mobile Android, la commissaire européenne à la Concurrence, Margrethe Vestager, a tenu à séparer les affaires pour souligner l’importance de chacune, dans une interview publiée par le Wall Street Journal lundi 26 octobre.

    « Ce que l’on retrouve en commun [dans ces dossiers], c’est le nom Google, [...] mais à part ça, ils sont vraiment différents. C’est pourquoi je ne vois pas ça comme une affaire Google mais littéralement comme des enquêtes et dossiers différents. »

    Et de citer notamment le dossier Google Shopping -le moteur de recherche est accusé de mettre en avant son comparateur de prix-, et les enquêtes concernant Android -"une haute priorité"- et le marché de la publicité.

  • Google devient Alphabet
    http://siliconvalley.blog.lemonde.fr/2015/08/10/google-devient-alphabet

    Google Inc. devient Alphabet Inc. ! Lundi 10 août, la société de Mountain View a annoncé un changement majeur de sa structure d’entreprise. Le moteur de recherche va devenir une filiale d’une nouvelle entité, baptisée Alphabet.

    [...]

    « Alphabet est une collection d’entreprises, explique M. Page dans un message publié sur le blog officiel de Google. Google est la plus importante. Mais ce nouveau Google va être allégé : les entreprises éloignées de nos principaux produits Internet seront désormais regroupées dans Alphabet ». Concrètement, cela signifie une séparation claire entre le cœur de métier de Google et tous ses projets annexes. Il s’agit de Google X (projets futuristes), de Calico, de Sidewalk Labs (logistique urbaine), de Nest (objets connectés), de Fiber (fibre optique) et de Google Ventures et Google Capital (investissements).

    https://abc.xyz

    https://investor.google.com/releases/2015/0810.html

    #Alphabet_Inc. #Bourse #Conglomérat_(économie) #Google #Larry_Page #Sergei_Brin #Sundar_Pichai #Économie

  • Google - CNIL - Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés
    http://www.cnil.fr/linstitution/missions/sanctionner/Google

    La formation restreinte de la CNIL prononce une sanction pécuniaire de 150 000 € à l’encontre de la société GOOGLE Inc.

    Le 3 janvier 2014, la formation restreinte de la CNIL a prononcé une sanction pécuniaire de 150 000 euros à l’encontre de la société GOOGLE Inc., estimant que les règles de confidentialité mises en œuvre par celle-ci depuis le 1er mars 2012 ne sont pas conformes à la loi « informatique et libertés ». Elle enjoint Google de procéder à la publication d’un communiqué relatif à cette décision sur la page d’accueil de Google.fr, sous huit jours à compter de la notification de la décision.

    #données_personnelles #google #cnil #fichage

  • Informatique : Quaero à l’heure du bilan
    http://www.lemonde.fr/sciences/article/2013/03/28/informatique-quaero-a-l-heure-du-bilan_3149818_1650684.html

    Lorsqu’en 2005 le président de la République Jacques Chirac, pour reprendre la main sur une politique de recherche et d’innovation mal entamée, avait lancé l’idée de grands programmes de R&D, les commentaires s’étaient enflammés autour du projet, baptisé Quaero, (trop) vite comparé à Google ou au succès européen d’Airbus. L’objectif était d’innover dans l’analyse des contenus multimédias et multilingues. Huit ans plus tard, Quaero se termine sans avoir tué Google, ni s’être comparé à l’entreprise aéronautique. L’accouchement a été difficile. Ce n’est qu’en 2008 que le projet a débuté, lorsque l’Union européenne a accepté ce soutien public à des entreprises. Puis la machine s’est mise en branle, dotée de 198 millions d’euros de budget.

    Au final, une « organisation unique autour de trois piliers », que les Shadoks n’auraient pas reniée :
    http://www.quaero.org/quaero-en-bref

    Un succès, vous dis-je.

    http://www.quaero.org/demos-et-prototypes

    Retrouvez toutes nos vidéos (présentations, démonstrations, usages) sur la chaîne YouTube QuaeroVideo.

    (Dailymotion, c’est nul).

    http://www.quaero.org/mentions-legales

    Ce site utilise Google Analytics, un service d’analyse de site internet fourni par Google Inc. (« Google »). Google Analytics utilise des cookies, qui sont des fichiers texte placés sur votre ordinateur, pour aider le site internet à analyser l’utilisation du site par ses utilisateurs. Les données générées par les cookies concernant votre utilisation du site (y compris votre adresse IP) seront transmises et stockées par Google sur des serveurs situés aux Etats-Unis.

  • U.S. Surveillance Is Not Aimed at Terrorists - Bloomberg
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-23/u-s-surveillance-is-not-aimed-at-terrorists.html

    In a January 2012 report titled “Jihadism on the Web: A Breeding Ground for Jihad in the Modern Age,” the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service drew a convincing picture of an Islamist Web underground centered around “core forums.” These websites are part of the Deep Web, or Undernet, the multitude of online resources not indexed by commonly used search engines.

    No Data

    The Netherlands’ security service, which couldn’t find recent data on the size of the Undernet, cited a 2003 study from the University of California at Berkeley as the “latest available scientific assessment.” The study found that just 0.2 percent of the Internet could be searched. The rest remained inscrutable and has probably grown since. In 2010, Google Inc. said it had indexed just 0.004 percent of the information on the Internet.

    Websites aimed at attracting traffic do their best to get noticed, paying to tailor their content to the real or perceived requirements of search engines such as Google. Terrorists have no such ambitions. They prefer to lurk in the dark recesses of the Undernet.

    “People who radicalise under the influence of jihadist websites often go through a number of stages,” the Dutch report said. “Their virtual activities increasingly shift to the invisible Web, their security awareness increases and their activities become more conspiratorial.”

    Radicals who initially stand out on the “surface” Web quickly meet people, online or offline, who drag them deeper into the Web underground. “For many, finally finding the jihadist core forums feels like a warm bath after their virtual wanderings,” the report said.

    When information filters to the surface Web from the core forums, it’s often by accident. Organizations such as al-Qaeda use the forums to distribute propaganda videos, which careless participants or their friends might post on social networks or YouTube.

    Communication on the core forums is often encrypted. In 2012, a French court found nuclear physicist Adlene Hicheur guilty of, among other things, conspiring to commit an act of terror for distributing and using software called Asrar al-Mujahideen, or Mujahideen Secrets. The program employed various cutting-edge encryption methods, including variable stealth ciphers and RSA 2,048-bit keys.

    The NSA’s Prism, according to a classified PowerPoint presentation published by the Guardian, provides access to the systems of Microsoft Corp. (and therefore Skype), Facebook Inc., Google, Apple Inc. and other U.S. Internet giants. Either these companies have provided “master keys” to decrypt their traffic - - which they deny — or the NSA has somehow found other means.

    Traditional Means

    Even complete access to these servers brings U.S. authorities no closer to the core forums. These must be infiltrated by more traditional intelligence means, such as using agents posing as jihadists or by informants within terrorist organizations.

    Similarly, monitoring phone calls is hardly the way to catch terrorists. They’re generally not dumb enough to use Verizon. Granted, Russia’s special services managed to kill Chechen separatist leader Dzhokhar Dudayev with a missile that homed in on his satellite-phone signal. That was in 1996. Modern-day terrorists are generally more aware of the available technology.

    At best, the recent revelations concerning Prism and telephone surveillance might deter potential recruits to terrorist causes from using the most visible parts of the Internet. Beyond that, the government’s efforts are much more dangerous to civil liberties than they are to al-Qaeda and other organizations like it.

  • Google Fiber provides faster Internet and, cities hope, business growth - The Washington Post
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-fiber-provides-faster-internet-and-cities-hope-business-growth/2013/01/25/08b466fc-6028-11e2-b05a-605528f6b712_story_1.html

    Of course, #Google has much to gain if the test in Kansas City works. It won’t say how much it spent to build the #network, but it wants faster speeds so consumers will search more, put more videos on YouTube and shift all e-mails and documents to its cloud system of servers. By doing so, the company gathers more data to build more complete portraits of users and boost its $37 billion business of selling customized ads.

    There is a “Home for Hackers,” donated by a local resident who lets entrepreneurs live and work there for free.

    #câbles #fibre #infrastructure #réseau

  • BiNet USA’s Blog: BiNet USA Wins Over Google in Search Term Dispute
    http://binetusa.blogspot.fr/2012/09/binet-usa-wins-over-google-in-search.html

    (Los Angeles, CA, September 4, 2012)—BiNet USA is pleased to confirm that Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has unblocked the term “bisexual” from its search algorithm. Now that “bisexual” is allowed, terms such as “bisexual quotes”, “bisexual rights”, and “bisexual parenting” are automatically suggested to Google users. “It’s not every day one of the biggest companies in the world changes its mind, but we are thankful that Google now sees bisexual people just like everyone else,” said BiNet USA President Faith Cheltenham. “It will take time for bisexual search terms to be ranked as they were before the ban, but now bisexual people and their allies have a fighting chance to be seen, heard, and understood.”

    Since late 2009, Google has had “bisexual” on a list of banned words; such words were de-prioritized by the Google search algorithm, leading to a drop in search rankings for all bisexual organizations and community resources. Since its search engine would not auto-suggest or auto-complete any term with the word “bisexual”, Google made it harder for any user to find bisexual content, whether that be on coming out as bisexual or finding local support groups across the United States and elsewhere.

  • Criminalité : Google abat ses cartes contre les cartels- Ecrans
    http://www.ecrans.fr/Google-abat-ses-cartes-contre-les,15056.html?var_mode=calcul

    Pour mieux comprendre comment fonctionne le marché parallèle de la drogue, le patron de Google Ideas, Jared Cohen et celui de Google Inc., Eric Schmidt se sont récemment rendus au Mexique pour rencontrer les dirigeants et les fonctionnaires qui y combattent les narcotrafiquants. « Défaits, impuissants, ils ont été tellement endurcis dans leur expérience avec les cartels qu’ils ont perdu la bataille et qu’ils ont perdu espoir, a commenté Eric Schmidt durant la conférence. « La technologie est la solution. »

    Non mais WTF ? C’est vraiment n’importe quoi.

  • Google n’acceptera pas les profiles Google+ avec un faux nom
    http://www.businessinsider.com/google-will-not-allow-google-profiles-with-fake-names-2011-7

    If you create a Google+ account under a fake name, it might be suspended.

    A Second Life user tried to create an account with the name of his avatar from the game, Opensource Obscure. According to Wagner James Au, Google canceled his account, then contacted him to get him to create a profile with his real name in the main spot. He was allowed to use his Second Life name in a secondary spot.

    Hmm... je ne vais peut-être pas rester bien longtemps dans ce bazar.

    En même temps, Facebook a les mêmes règles et ne les applique pas. (voir le profil de « Maître Eolas », par exemple)

    • J’aimerais le croire, mais l’article cite un exemple où la règle a été effectivement appliquée.

      Moi je trouve ça tout à fait idiot et inapplicable : je pourrais m’inscrire sous le nom de Jean Dupont ou Erwan Le Gall, et comment sauraient-ils si c’est mon vrai nom ou pas ?

    • @le_woodman Il n’est pas impossible que ce soit lié aux juridictions nationales, mais Google s’en moque, habituellement. Je veux dire que Google a trouvé la « faille » qu’il applique à toutes les juridictions du monde : Google est un service américain, exploité par une entreprise américaine aux USA. Ses filiales locales ne sont même pas ses représentants légaux nationaux, juste des prestataires facturant leurs services à Google Inc. D’où aussi la difficulté de poursuivre Google, que les entités locales défendent de fait, tout en clamant leur indépendance.

      Je pense plutôt que la raison est toute autre : la confiance des utilisateurs, d’une part, et la confiance des annonceurs, d’autre part.

      Maintenant, ça vaut ce que ça vaut. Facebook a plus d’utilisateurs enregistrés dans la ville d’Oslo que d’habitants de cette même ville.

      Pour la petite histoire, Blizzard, l’éditeur de World of Warcraft et de Diablo, notamment, a essayé de transposer ce principe de véritable identité à son réseau de jeux vidéo, sous le nom Real Name. Echec retentissant. Abandon de l’idée. Etonnamment, ça passe avec Facebook et Google. Pourtant, cela a certainement plus de répercussions négatives qu’avec un jeu vidéo... :-/

      Enfin, quand on est vraiment motivé, on arrive à se créer des identités virtuelles facilement. Il suffit d’utiliser un nom crédible pour pseudonyme. Et sinon, comme le fait l’un de mes amis sur les réseaux sociaux, son nom volontairement incorrectement orthographié.

      #identité #fichage #google #facebook #blizzard #réseaux_sociaux

    • Bien sûr ! C’est pourquoi j’ai toujours pensé qu’il était plus honnête d’utiliser un pseudonyme. Rien ne me prouve que ton vrai nom soit Martin Korolczuk. Et tu ne pourras jamais m’en convaincre, même à scanner ta carte d’identité : elle pourrait être retouchée par photoshop, ou être la carte de quelqu’un d’autre.

      Par contre tu peux être absolument certain que Wood n’est pas mon vrai nom. Un tel pseudonyme ne laisse absolument aucune ambigüité.