Google Drive Bug Small Files Blocked For Copyright Infringement

The Google Drive cloud service has an automatic system designed to detect and block copyrighted files. However, in some cases the algorithm doesn’t seem to work properly. For example, files with only one digit were blocked. The recognition system aims to prevent users from uploading and then sharing copyrighted content such as music and videos with other users.

The Twitter user Dr Emily Dolson noted, however, that some files are marked incorrectly. She had a text document called “output04.txt” with only the number “1” synced to her Drive account. A message then appeared stating that the file violated the service’s terms of service and that some features related to the document may be restricted.

In principle, no appeal is possible against the decisions of the automated system. Another user has tries to reproduce the problem and upload a file with only one digit. The text document was also considered a copyright infringement. Also, files with more numbers seem to be blocked. Next to the number “1” were loud bleeding computer numbers 173, 174, 186, 266, 285, 302, 336, 451, 500 and 833 are also blocked. The researcher Dr Chris Jefferson generated files with numbers between -1000 and 1000 and saved them to Google Drive.

Bug causes are unknown

So far it is unclear what causes the bug and under what circumstances the error occurs. Google has not yet issued a statement regarding the issue. It is conceivable that the search engine group will soon make adjustments to the automatic recognition system and thus quickly eliminate the bug.