Googzilla Plays Crawfish: Back Tracking on Chrome Terms

September 4, 2008

Ina Fried wrote “Google Backtracks on Chrome License Terms”. You can read her CNet story here. The point of the story is that Google has withdrawn some of the language of its Chrome license terms. Ms. Fried wrote:

Section 11 now reads simply: “11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.”

For me, this this sudden reversal is good news and bad news. The good news is that the GOOG recognized that it was close to becoming a Microsoft doppelgänger and reversed direction–fast. The bad news is that the original terms make it clear that Google’s browser containers would monitor the clicks, context, content, and processes of a user. Dataspaces are much easier to populate if you have the users in a digital fishbowl. The change in terms does little to assuage my perception of the utility of dataspaces to Google.

To catch up on the original language, click here. To find out a bit about dataspaces, click here.

Stephen Arnold, September 4, 2008

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