Apps and Software By Lee Mathews Jan. 11, 2014 11:01 am
System-generated invitations from web services like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ can be pretty annoying. They can also land you in jail.
That’s what happened to Thomas Gagnon of Massachusetts. Apparently while he was reorganizing his Google+ circles, the Big G’s notification service sprung into action and sent an invite off to his ex. Awkward? Sure. In this case, however, it was actually grounds for a call to the police.
Gagnon’s ex has a restraining order against him on the books. He’s not supposed to have any contact with her, so when she received the Google+ invite she picked up the phone. Police agreed that a violation had occurred, so they picked Gagnon up and deposited him in a holding cell. They also slapped on a $500 fine.
Gagnon contends that he himself didn’t send the invite and that he wasn’t even aware that one was being sent. That’s certainly possible. Many of the web services we use act on our behalf without explicitly notifying us that they’re doing it.
LinkedIn has found itself in hot water several times for its emailing practices, and there’s a chance that the Gagnon case could turn out badly for Google.
Privacy advocates claim that companies like Google are overstepping their bounds when they do this. The notifications are generally mentioned in the user agreements we (mostly) blindly click through when we register for services like Google+, but that might not get Google off the hook.
There have been complaints about these automatic invitations since 2012. Typically, they’re little more than users griping about a co-worker or boss questioning “this Google+ thing you sent me.” In Gagnon’s case, obviously, it’s a whole lot more serious.
The solution seems simple enough. Give us a toggle, or prompt us before the invites go out. It’s a minimal inconvenience, especially for someone in Gagnon’s position.
More...
That’s what happened to Thomas Gagnon of Massachusetts. Apparently while he was reorganizing his Google+ circles, the Big G’s notification service sprung into action and sent an invite off to his ex. Awkward? Sure. In this case, however, it was actually grounds for a call to the police.
Gagnon’s ex has a restraining order against him on the books. He’s not supposed to have any contact with her, so when she received the Google+ invite she picked up the phone. Police agreed that a violation had occurred, so they picked Gagnon up and deposited him in a holding cell. They also slapped on a $500 fine.
Gagnon contends that he himself didn’t send the invite and that he wasn’t even aware that one was being sent. That’s certainly possible. Many of the web services we use act on our behalf without explicitly notifying us that they’re doing it.
LinkedIn has found itself in hot water several times for its emailing practices, and there’s a chance that the Gagnon case could turn out badly for Google.
Privacy advocates claim that companies like Google are overstepping their bounds when they do this. The notifications are generally mentioned in the user agreements we (mostly) blindly click through when we register for services like Google+, but that might not get Google off the hook.
There have been complaints about these automatic invitations since 2012. Typically, they’re little more than users griping about a co-worker or boss questioning “this Google+ thing you sent me.” In Gagnon’s case, obviously, it’s a whole lot more serious.
The solution seems simple enough. Give us a toggle, or prompt us before the invites go out. It’s a minimal inconvenience, especially for someone in Gagnon’s position.
More...
