Google defends its Ts & Cs

Google wants to make its terms of service as clear and user-friendly as possible

Google has again defended its legal documentation, after eagle-eyed users noticed some controversial text in its terms and conditions.

On close inspection it appeared that the firm was looking to control rights to any documents accessed through its applications and services.

Concerns were raised among bloggers and other internet users after the release of Google's Chrome browser that the web giant was potentially going to control all content.

Hidden deep within Chrome's associated documents was the following phrase: 'By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive licence to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any content which you submit, post or display on or through, the services.'

As users began to notice this, many were worried that they would be surrendering rights to their own content.

Although Google rushed to reassure Chrome users in a blog post last week, it soon became apparent that the same terms could apply to users of other Google services, such as Gmail and Google Docs.

Today, in another post, the firm sought to clarify the legal language used in the terms and conditions it applies to all its products.

Mike Yang, senior product counsel at Google, said: "What you create is yours and remains yours."

He added that the firm just requires that users grant Google permission to use documents as part of its service.

"Because, in the end, that's what's most important: making sure you're comfortable using our services to share, publish and store your stuff," Yang said.

"We'll continue to look at our terms of service to make them as clear and user-friendly as possible, because at the end of the day if you're not comfortable our products won't succeed - and we know it."