It's now clear that the Google+ social network is an absolute key part of Google's integrated strategy. To that end, the company has previously been criticized for its heavy-handed approach to policy enforcement -- particularly in the so-called nymwars, where it's banned several accounts the use pseudonyms. However, Google now seems to be ignoring the problem of sexually explicit material. It started with repetitive spamming of innocent-looking links to porn sites. It soon escalated to marginally-safe-for-work images, such as barely-clad women in provocative poses. However, over the past few days, I'm now seeing countless hard-core pornographic images. And I'm no prude: I use the phrase "hard-core" advisedly -- some of these pictures would actually be illegal in places such as the UK. Needless to say, this continual stream of porno spam is contrary to Google's Content Policy, but abuse reports seem to go unheeded. What's the point of reporting the abuse if Google's asleep at the switch? I'm not about to link to any spammy or pornographic profiles, but if Google people want to investigate, they can check out the stream of abuse reports I've recently made, or contact me for more details. My Google+ account is richij -- you should follow me!
Are you fed up of Google's inconsistent policies? Comment below...
Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. As well as The Long View, he's also the creator and main author of Computerworld's IT Blogwatch -- for which he has won American Society of Business Publication Editors and Jesse H. Neal awards on behalf of IDG Enterprise. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: TLV@richij.com. You can also read Richi's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.