Google recently unveiled its new Drive cloud storage service, and IT must start deciding whether to allow their organizations and employees to use the service to store company data. For some organizations and experts, the answer is an easy “no.”
Google has begun offering up to 5 free gigabytes of storage through Google Drive, with the option of spending $4 per month for each additional 20GB, up to a maximum of 16TB. Though the service is being aimed at corporate customers, many experts have warned against loading sensitive company information onto Google Drive, at least for now.
One organization that’s officially asked employees to avoid using Google Drive for company documents: the New York Times. As explained in a recent article, the New York Times and other organizations want Google to clarify its terms of service before any sensitive information is put in the company’s care.
As of March 1 of this year, all of Google’s services are governed by the same terms of service. And, for example, part of those policies allows the company to scan and use customers’ content for Google’s own purposes — for example, emails sent using Gmail are scanned to determine what ads the user sees.
Those policies were also criticized by Electronic Privacy Information Center, which says the rules will give Google broad rights over the data uploaded by Google Drive users.
In response to the criticism, Google has defended its policies, saying it uses similar language as other companies. The policy in question exists to allow Google to share content on the customer’s behalf, such as when documents are enabled for collaboration, a Google spokesperson told PCWorld.
What do you think? Would you be comfortable if sensitive company information was held in Google Drive? Let us know why or why not in the comments section below.