In the last few days a conspicuous notification has appeared on the first page of the most used search engine in the world (as you can see in the screenshot at the end of the article). The pop-up is not visible to everyone, however, since it is linked to a provision of the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) and therefore appears only on the version with localization ” .it “(while he is absent from google.com in Italian). The message is very simple and invites you to deepen a topic reported in a very concise (and rather alarming) way , the text of the notice in fact reads:
By clicking on “read here” a page in pdf opens with an extract of a procedure expressed in the most classic legalese . Otherwise you can ignore the message and continue as if nothing had happened. If you are here, however, it is probably because it has at least intrigued you.
Well the reason why Google published this notice in its very popular home is that it was obliged by the AGCM . As we explained here a couple of weeks ago, the national antitrust authority recently completed an investigation into the behavior of the major cloud storage services: Apple's iCloud, Dropbox and of course Google Drive.
At the end of the procedure, some incorrect practices were identified or better it was established the presence of clauses defined as “vexatious” in the long document that each user must accept in order to use the service (yes, just what no one ever reads and click directly on “accept”). Simplifying the matter, the authority has established that the terms of service are too biased in favor of the companies , which can unilaterally modify the agreements, interrupt or suspend the service, reaching the point of exonerating themselves in case of data loss.
The investigation by the AGCM did not lead to the payment of fines as often happens, the guarantor has instead established the obligation to show the announcement and its extract to all users for 20 consecutive days . If the question has therefore fascinated you enough, you can continue by reading the full text of the provision at this link.
