In a recent Business Insider report, a Houston man has been arrested after Google sent a tip to the National Center for missing and exploited children saying the man had explicit images of a child in his email, according to Houston police.
After Google reportedly tipped off the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the center alerted police, who used the information to get a warrant. A search of the man's other devices revealed more suspicious images and text messages. Police arrested him and he's being held on a $200,000 bond.
On one hand, most people would certainly applaud the use of technology to scan email in a case like this. On the other, debate rages about how much privacy users can expect when using Google's services like email. In a word: none.
Google responded by telling us that it does indeed search for such images in Gmail. Here's the statement:
Sadly all Internet companies have to deal with child sexual abuse. It’s why Google actively removes illegal imagery from our services -- including search and Gmail -- and immediately reports abuse to NCMEC. This evidence is regularly used to convict criminals. Each child sexual abuse image is given a unique digital fingerprint which enables our systems to identify those pictures, including in Gmail. It is important to remember that we only use this technology to identify child sexual abuse imagery, not other email content that could be associated with criminal activity.
http://www.businessinsider.com/police-say-a-google-tip-about-child-abuse-led-to-arrest-2014-8?op=1
1 comment:
Very interesting article. Thanks for sharing.
I understand people's desire for privacy but am absolutely shocked by the lack of shame people have when they protest for privacy immediately following a situation like THIS. How about a little bit of silence and relief to have a man like this caught?
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