Insights That
Drive Revenue News and analysis by John Colascione.

Tag: Artificial Intelligence

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July 3, 2026

How a Two-Minute WHOIS Lookup Exposed a Fairly Clever Book Marketing Scam

The message had already been routed into my spam folder by Google's filtering system. While legitimate emails can occasionally end up there, I generally treat anything in my spam folder with an extra level of skepticism. At the same time, I no longer assume that every message flagged as spam is malicious. Earlier this year, major email providers including Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft tightened their email authentication and spam filtering, making their filters far more aggressive. As a result, I now review my spam folder much more carefully because legitimate business inquiries occasionally end up there; some never make it to my inbox at all.

Google's Terms of Service are receiving their first major update in several years, with the revised agreement taking effect on July 30, 2026. While most users won't notice changes in how Google's services operate, the updated terms introduce new language covering artificial intelligence, background internet activity, automated access, and other policies that reflect today's evolving online landscape.
June 27, 2026

Google Updates Its Terms of Service: Here’s What Changed in Plain-English

If you don't have time to sift through all of the legal jargon, I've done it for you. Below is a plain-English breakdown of the most notable changes, including new language about background internet usage, expanded provisions related to artificial intelligence, updated rules regarding automated access and scraping, and several legal clarifications. While this isn't an exhaustive review of every edit, it highlights the changes most likely to matter to everyday users, website owners, and businesses that rely on Google's services.