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0 pointsneon_erosion5mo ago0 comments

How does flagging a domain that was actively hosting phishing sites demonstrate that Google has too much power? They do, but this is a terrible example, undermining any point you are trying to make.

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jeroenhd5mo ago

The thing about Google is that they regularly get this stuff wrong, and there is no recourse when they do.

I think most people working in tech know the extent to which Google can screw over a business when they make a mistake, but the gravity of the situation becomes much clearer when it actually happens to you.

This time it's a phishing website, but what if the same happens five years down the line because of an unflattering page about a megalomaniac US politician?

neon_erosionOP5mo ago

Then that would be an example of a system having failed and one that needs to change. Instead, this is an example of a hosting company complaining about the consequences of skipping some of the basic, well-documented safety and security practices that help to isolate domains for all sorts of reasons, from reputation to little things like user cookies.

gcr5mo ago

This article shows an example of this process working as intended though.

The user's site was hosting phishing material. Google showed the site owner what was wrong, provided concrete steps to remedy the situation, and removed the warning within a few hours of being notified that it was resolved.

Google's support sucks in other ways, but this particular example went very smoothly.

arcfour5mo ago

> Oh my god, my site was unavailable for 7 hours because I hosted phishing!

Won't someone please think of the website operator?

j455mo ago

Maybe google can have large impact is a more accurate way of putting it vs power.

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