AfterDawn: Tech news

Google Fiber now permits home servers, in writing

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Oct 2013 5:28

Google Fiber now permits home servers, in writing

After a recent controversy in which Google was asked to explain why their Google Fiber Internet connection banned servers, the company has updated their terms of service to explicitly allow home servers.
The original ToS had banned business servers and a Fiber FAQ stated that the "use of applications such as multi-player gaming, video-conferencing, home security and others which may include server capabilities but are being used for legal and non-commercial purposes are acceptable and encouraged." The issue was that Google's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) specifically said all servers were banned.

This has now been updated.

Reads the updated AUP: Customers can not "operate servers for commercial purposes. However, personal, non-commercial use of servers that complies with this AUP is acceptable, including using virtual private networks (VPN) to access services in your home and using hardware or applications that include server capabilities for uses like multi-player gaming, video-conferencing, and home security."

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