Is Google turning into a Goolag?

Desmond

Destroy Erase Improve
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Title.

We have come to rely on Google a lot over the past two decades or so. Since then Google has gone from being a humble search engine to a ad driven megacorporation today with revenue in excess of the GDPs of some third world countries. Over the course of their growth, they have started incorporating shady and anti-competitive practices to leverage its dominance of the web to bully competitors and consumers alike.

Some points regarding Google's maliciousness:

- Aggressively pushing Google Chrome and using non-standard web technologies to put other browsers at a disadvantage. This is what Microsoft was sued for back in the day for simply bundling IE with Windows, but Google gets a free pass?

- Bullying websites into adopting AMP so that those site contents will be displayed within a Google controlled environment without going to the websites themselves. Websites not adhering to AMP may have their search results rankings drop.

- Collects information of its users and uses it for not only personalizing the search results, but also to hide information that the user might disagree with, thus creating an echo chamber encouraging like minded behaviour among users. A massive attack on free speech.

- Hid a critical Google+ data leak from the public due to fear of govt. regulation.

- Bullies youtube content creators with severely demonetizing videos that don't confirm to their family friendly agenda. Such videos are identified using algorithms that are known to false flag videos and support for wrongfully flagged videos is slow. However, they hypocritically show ads on videos by viral content creators regardless of subject matter.

- Allows corporations and individuals to abuse Youtube's copyright takedown system to remove videos that they don't agree with rather than a legitimate copyright reason. Also, poor support for content creators whose videos were fraudulently taken down in such a manner.

Plus many more.

So, my question is, is Google going too far and at what point do we draw the line? I know that most of the public is apathetic towards such issues, but how much do we, the more tech-oriented populace, care about this?

Edit: For those of you who don't know, a Gulag is a soviet fortified prison camp. Goolag is a play on gulag. Gulag - Wikipedia
 
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billubakra

Conversation Architect
They turned into Skynet way back.
About G+ bug, they know that social networking is not in their DNA but they don't want to admit the same.
 
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Desmond

Desmond

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I personally feel that we must stop feeding Google's dominance and start looking for alternatives to their services. I have started using duckduckgo on all my browsers and replacing google logins on sites with my email/password login.
 

Zangetsu

I am the master of my Fate.
Google is the biggest tracker on the web..it tracks everything, your browsing habits, what u buy, watch, share and event the content in your mail.
I was surprised to see that google knows what I have bought till date from Amazon.
 

TheSloth

The Slowest One
I have noticed few times now,might sound funny to you people, but it happened and I am aware of it now. I never, ever, search for cars, let alone Indian cars which launched recently or whatever. I was just speaking to my colleague about car and he was telling me about his plans. So of course, he has googled about these cars he wants to buy on his android phone. Suddenly by the night I am seeing google ads on apps about that car In particular. Before this I never saw car related ads ever on phone.
 

billubakra

Conversation Architect
I have noticed few times now,might sound funny to you people, but it happened and I am aware of it now. I never, ever, search for cars, let alone Indian cars which launched recently or whatever. I was just speaking to my colleague about car and he was telling me about his plans. So of course, he has googled about these cars he wants to buy on his android phone. Suddenly by the night I am seeing google ads on apps about that car In particular. Before this I never saw car related ads ever on phone.
Maybe your Google Assistant/some other assistant was on at that time or maybe your friends. Either way Skynet thought that you two would like to buy cars or something and hence the ads.
 

meetdilip

Computer Addict
European competition commission already fined Google. Now they are charging up to $40 from OEM if they want to pre-load Google services. But that means your smart phones getting costly by 2.5
 

TheSloth

The Slowest One
Maybe your Google Assistant/some other assistant was on at that time or maybe your friends. Either way Skynet thought that you two would like to buy cars or something and hence the ads.
Google assistant you mean when we say "ok Google" to start speaking to phone.
Anyways, I am quite sure my phone records everything I speak. I have seen ads based on my talks. Those ads I shouldn't get as I don't browse about those.
 

billubakra

Conversation Architect
Google assistant you mean when we say "ok Google" to start speaking to phone.
Anyways, I am quite sure my phone records everything I speak. I have seen ads based on my talks. Those ads I shouldn't get as I don't browse about those.

1 of the terms and conditions of the Google Assistant says that it will collect data from your phone to make your user experience better. So, whether you say ok google or not doesn't matter. Skynet is collecting everything, even your social media chats.
 

billubakra

Conversation Architect
European competition commission already fined Google. Now they are charging up to $40 from OEM if they want to pre-load Google services. But that means your smart phones getting costly by 2.5

What will happen after EU collects the fine? Nothing, Skynet won't stop collecting stuff. I remember once a women uploaded her photo on some cloud service, I don't recall the name. Few months later she saw her photo in an ad on an island. Then she found out that anything that we upload on these cloud services becomes their property.
 
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Desmond

Desmond

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Google actually collects data regardless of whether you manually choose to opt out or not.

What will happen after EU collects the fine? Nothing, Skynet won't stop collecting stuff. I remember once a women uploaded her photo on some cloud service, I don't recall the name. Few months later she saw her photo in an ad on an island. Then she found out that anything that we upload on these cloud services becomes their property.

Wow, this is why you should read the terms of service carefully.

Google used to officially have a "Do no evil" clause in their terms of service. They quietly removed it later.
 

chimera201

Wise Old Owl
Google is the biggest tracker on the web..it tracks everything, your browsing habits, what u buy, watch, share and event the content in your mail.
I was surprised to see that google knows what I have bought till date from Amazon.

Google (and also facebook in FB) even tracks how you move the mouse cursor in Chrome.
 

Vyom

The Power of x480
Staff member
Admin
Google is everywhere. I believe it has already won. You can "try" to avoid Google. But for how long can you do so?
I tried DuckDuckGo when it came default with the Firefox on Ubuntu. Had to switch to Google, since I was so used to personalized results.

When you search for an item on Google and if you have bought that on Amazon it shows when you last ordered that item. Yes, for that it went through your email, and it maybe a red flag, but you have to admit, it's extremely useful.

I can give countless examples of the ease Google have given to people, and while it is scary to think that Google is slowly dominating our lives, but in the long run, people want more convenience over privacy. It's a sad truth for most of human society.

I agree that Google Plus was a big blunder and Google needed to be accountable for it, but who will boycott it? People who don't even stop using Facebook after an event such as Cambridge Analytica? We are already too far gone. The best we can do is to "try" to look for alternatives. But then in the "society" we will only be seen as an outcast and will always be those people who are "missing out" on what society think is cool.

Edit: Should we move this thread to Cavern, to avoid prying eyes of Google?r
 
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Desmond

Desmond

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Honestly, there is not much of a difference between the search results of Google and DuckDuckGo. Plus, personalized results is not that big of a deal IMO, with some persistence, anyone can find anything.

And if you still need Google's results, use something like StartPage which acts as a Google proxy and shows results from Google.

Edit: Link.
 

Cyberghost

Federal Agent Area 51
Staff member
Google now using unethical ads for revenue:
Pornhub Ad on Family Friendly Youtube Video
Kids YouTube ad that looks like a new video to click
 
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Desmond

Desmond

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That's because Google relies on algorithms to determine what kind of person is watching the video. These algorithms don't always work and Google just doesn't give a f***.
 
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