Internal business use of Google Cloud Translation API

[samiot...@gmail.com]

Dear support team,

The company I work for has a subscription for Google Cloud Translation API. 

As client's data privacy and confidentiality is crucial for our business, we would like to offer our in-house project managers the possibility to use the Google Cloud Translation API for solving any translation doubts in multiple language directions. The use of online Google Translate is not an option since it's use involves data sharing.

Is it possible to deploy this by having a company-specific URL to which PMs can connect for accessing the Google Cloud Translation API with the company's Google Cloud Translation API key?

If yes, how can we implement it?

Thank you in advance,

[Adam M. B.]

Hi Anna,

To give you a good answer, I need to understand a bit more.

Where is the exact data privacy issue, why is it fine for them to send data to the API directly but not via the website?

And do they want to see the translations, or do they just want to know if the translation is correct or not?

Thanks and regards,

Adam

[m...@cpsl.com]

Hello Adam and Anna,

Sorry to jump in but my company would also be interested in something like this too. I think Anna means that sometimes you need to machine-translate short texts like emails that might contain confidential information such as company or people's names. The fastest way to do this is to copy-paste them into the free Google Translate website, but since the contents might be reused we risk having confidentiality issues. In these cases, to keep confidentiality, we should use the paid API key service, but it takes too much time for such short texts. Is there a solution halfway between the free online service and the paid API which allows to keep confidentiality? Maybe this is something that we can develop using the Google Translate toolkit?

Thank you!

Lucía

[Adam Bittlingmayer]

Hi Lucía,

Thanks for illuminating.  What exactly do you mean by "reused"?

I'm not sure there is a difference on this between the API, the free web interface and other free consumer interfaces like the translation integrated in Google Chrome.  As a rule, nobody can see single queries.  Queries are only used anonymised and in aggregate, or if the query is very popular or specifically reported as having an issue.

Can you point me to what specifically differs between the terms of the API (https://cloud.google.com/translate/data-usage, https://cloud.google.com/translate/faq#data_confidentiality) and the terms of the free web services (https://policies.google.com/privacy#infocollect)?

The exact terms may differ by jurisdiction, or if the user is a GSuite user (https://gsuite.google.com/faq/security/).

To your question: there are ways to access the API via a web interface, for example via https://developers.google.com/apis-explorer/#p/translate/v2/language.translations.translate when logged into the console.  Your company could also develop an internal web interface.

Adam

[m...@cpsl.com]

Hello Adam,

Thanks for the list of links! We are particularly concerned by this paragraph under the Terms of Service (under section 'Your Content in our Services'):

"When you upload, submit, store, send or receive content to or through our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing you have added to Google Maps)."

(this paragraph is in the current ToS and also in the new ones, which will be in force starting from 22nd Jan 2019)

Here's the link to the comparison: https://policies.google.com/terms/archive/20171025-20190122?hl=en

What does this mean for a person or company using Google Translate? Is there any difference between the free web service and the API, or do the ToS apply to both? How can I know that the information I'm typing into GT won't be reused and/or publicly available to anyone? Many people from the localization industry tend to advise not to use the free web translation service for confidential documents, so I think your suggested solution (developing an internal web interface) can be more reassuring.

Thank you!

Lucía

[Adam Bittlingmayer]

Hi Lucía,

To be clear, I'm independent and not connected to Google in any way, and also not a lawyer in any jurisdiction.  I also interested in an official answer to those questions, eg if there is a concrete difference between the terms of the API and the other interfaces like the web interface or Chrome.

I'm betting an email or chat falls under stricter guidelines than that section of the ToS, same for web pages we view in Chrome, the point being that there are further terms for specific services or generally for that sort of private content, guaranteeing that an email or private page won't show up on a billboard.

As it happens, Gmail and Chrome also provide integrated translation, and I highly doubt that when translation automatically fires that it voids the general terms of service for emails in Gmail or pages in Chrome.

"Many people from the localization industry tend to advise not to use the free web translation service for confidential documents"

A lot of them are not very technical and/or have a strong interest in spreading misinformation about machine translation specifically.  That's why they don't make the same argument for eg email or browser content, which are just as confidential.

So I think Google owes a clarification here, as the answer to all of this isn't findable by a reasonable search, but my bet is that translating a document with Chrome is as confidential as doing it with the API.

[Anna Samiotou]

Hi Adam and Lucia,

thank you both for your answers - Lucia explained beautifully my point and Adam's final suggestion is exactly what we did in my company i.e. we developed an internal web interface that accesses Google API.

Best wishes for 2019!

Anna