Google Drive sparks concerns over privacy

Google is facing suspicion and confusion as it tries to persuade people to entrust personal documents, photos and other content to the company's new online storage service.

That became apparent shortly after Tuesday's unveiling of the Google Drive service. Before the day was over, technology blogs and Twitter users were seizing on a legal clause in the "terms of service" that could be interpreted to mean that any content stored in Google Drive automatically becomes Google Inc.'s intellectual property.

The confusion centered on a passage advising that anyone uploading or submitting content to Google Drive will grant Google "a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content."

The new service's policy was troubling enough for The New York Times, the third-largest U.S. newspaper, to send out a note discouraging the roughly 1,000 newsroom employees from storing files on Google Drive.

As it turns out, the worries are probably unfounded.

Google says the language is actually standard legalese that gives the company the licensing rights it needs to deliver on services that users' request.

Everyday occurrences such as someone watching a video or pulling up a text file at an Internet cafe require Google to retain permission to "publicly perform" or "publicly display" such content.

"Our terms of service enable us to give you the services you want," Google said in a statement on Wednesday.