Google has updated its Google Fiber policies, enabling users to operate personal servers on the search giant’s high-speed Internet service. The language backs down from an explicit ban on all servers, leaving room for home security equipment or virtual private networks (VPNs), however it maintains a restriction on any servers used for commercial purposes by small businesses.
Google had come under fire for its original Acceptable Use Policy, which was viewed as a violation of net-neutrality principles. The terms had been defended as standard practice by other ISPs, however the argument was criticized as contradictory to the company’s previous defense of net-neutrality principles.
“From the beginning, Google Fiber was meant to help make the web faster for individuals and families,” the company wrote in a blog post. “We chose to bring a Fiber to homes first, to help make the web there faster, and we’ll have a small business product in the future.”
The rules make a distinction between home-based businesses, which can operate certain servers via Google Fiber, and a larger operation in a commercial setting. The company promises to share more information about commercial service “as soon as we have something to share.”
