Overbearing Google Drive flagging innocent files as copyright infringement

If you’ve ever run into a problem with a Google product and then tried to get help from Google, you’ll know it’s next to impossible to speak to a real person because so much of what the company does is automated, including its support. It now appears as if that automation which Google loves so much is now flagging up Google Drive files as copyright infringement for simply containing 1’s and 0’s in them.

The issue was first flagged up by an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, Dr. Emily Dolson, who reported that a file, just containing the number 1, has been flagged and restricted by Google for breaking Google Drive’s Copyright Infringement policy. Others have tried recreating the issue over on Ycombinator News and also had their files flagged after about one hour.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of the flag raised by Google is that there’s a little note at the bottom of the warning stating that a ‘review cannot be requested for this restriction.’ While Dolson's issue got a response directly from Google Drive following much publicity, for everyone else, Google is essentially saying "suck it up", because it’s not going to address your issue.

Google Drive eventually responded to the Tweet explaining that it’s now working on a fix. If you’ve had files restricted due to this issue, they should be unflagged soon. Hopefully, Google can also fix the fact that it’s basically impossible to talk to a real person at the company.

Source: Ycombinator News via TorrentFreak