Google reveals a privacy friendly side which announcements on changes to cookies policy, action against doxxing and removal of images policy
May 3, 2022 |
Google has been attracting some plaudits for being responsive to concerns about privacy abuses. In October 2021 Google started allowing people under 18 or their parents request to delete their photos from search results. Users must specify that they want Google to remove “Imagery of an individual currently under the age of 18” and provide some personal information, the image URLs and search queries that would give rise to the results. Google also now allows requests to remove non-consensual explicit or intimate personal images from Google, along with involuntary fake pornography
It is pleasing that these changes have been made of Google’s own volition but it was done at a time of regulator pressure and adverse findings regarding the use of Google Analytics by the CNIL.
Recently Google announced its plan to include a “reject all” button on cookie banners. Google is now giving consumers more choice and control on how their data is tracked.
The UK Information Commissioner is huffed stating:
We welcome news of Google’s revised approach to cookie consent. It’s a change we’ve been seeking through our ongoing discussions with Google and broader adtech work. The new ‘reject all’ option gives consumers greater control and balance of choice over the tracking of their online activity.
“There’s still a long way to go to address concerns around consent across the whole online advertising industry, but short term, we expect to see industry following Google’s lead to provide clearer choices for consumers. This is only a first step; current approaches to obtaining cookie consent need further revision in order to provide a smoother and increasingly privacy-friendly browsing experience.”
As of this week Google has updated its personal information removal policy to allow doxxing victims to remove personal identifiable information from search engines.
The statement from Google, per Michelle Chang, provides:
Privacy and online safety go hand in hand. And when you’re using the internet, it’s important to have control over how your sensitive, personally identifiable information can be found.
On Google Search, we already have a set of policies that allow people to request the removal of certain content from Search, with a focus on highly personal content that, if public, can cause direct harm to people. But the internet is always evolving – with information popping up in unexpected places and being used in new ways — so our policies and protections need to evolve, too.
Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search.
Request the removal of personally identifiable information that appears in Google Search
For many years, people have been able to request the removal of certain sensitive, personally identifiable information from Search — for example, in cases of doxxing, or information like bank account or credit card numbers that could be used for financial fraud.
Under this new policy expansion, people can now request removals of additional types of information when they find it in Search results, including personal contact information like a phone number, email address, or physical address. The policy also allows for the removal of additional information that may pose a risk for identity theft, such as confidential log-in credentials, when it appears in Search results.
The availability of personal contact information online can be jarring — and it can be used in harmful ways, including for unwanted direct contact or even physical harm. And people have given us feedback that they would like the ability to remove this type of information from Search in some cases.
When we receive removal requests, we will evaluate all content on the web page to ensure that we’re not limiting the availability of other information that is broadly useful, for instance in news articles. We’ll also evaluate if the content appears as part of the public record on the sites of government or official sources. In such cases, we won’t make removals.
It’s important to remember that removing content from Google Search won’t remove it from the internet, which is why you may wish to contact the hosting site directly, if you’re comfortable doing so.
We’re always looking for new ways to ensure our policies and built-in safeguards reflect peoples’ evolving needs and are easy to use. For example, in addition to this update, we recently rolled out a new policy to enable people under the age of 18 (or their parent or guardian) to request the removal of their images from Google Search results.
Maximizing access to information while empowering people to be in control of their sensitive, personally identifiable information is a critical balance to strike. We believe these updates are an important step to deliver on that goal and give people the tools they need to protect their safety and privacy online.
The policy reads as follows:
Remove select personally identifiable info (PII) or doxxing content from Google Search
Google may remove personally identifiable information (PII) that has potential to create significant risks of identity theft, financial fraud, harmful direct contact, or other specific harms. This includes doxxing, which is when your contact info is shared in a malicious way. This article is intended to support you through the process to request removal of such content from Google search results.
We evaluate each request based on the criteria listed below, and evaluate the content for public interest. As a result, we may:
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- Remove the provided URL(s) for all queries,
- Remove the URL(s) for only queries including your name, or
- In some circumstances, deny your request.
Requirements
Requirements to remove personally identifiable info
For us to consider the content for removal, it must pertain to the following types of information:
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- Confidential government identification (ID) numbers like U.S. Social Security Number, Argentine Single Tax Identification Number, Brazil Cadastro de pessoas Físicas, Korea Resident Registration Number, China Resident Identity Card, etc.
- Bank account numbers
- Credit card numbers
- Images of handwritten signatures
- Images of ID docs
- Highly personal, restricted, and official records, like medical records
- Personal contact info (physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses)
- Confidential login credentials
Requirements to remove doxxing content
For us to consider the content for removal, it must meet both of these requirements:
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- Your contact info is present.
- There’s the presence of:
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- Explicit or implicit threats, or
- Explicit or implicit calls to action for others to harm or harass.
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Request to remove select personal info from Google Search
You or your authorized representative can submit a request to remove links to the content from Google search results. Any authorized representative will need to explain how they have the authority to act on your behalf.
Important: We only review the URLs that you or your authorized representative submits in the form.
What happens after you submit the removal request
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- You get an automated email confirmation. This confirms we received the request.
- We review your request. Each request is evaluated on factors including the requirements above.
- dWe gather more info, if needed. In some cases, we may ask you for more information. If the request doesn’t have enough information for us to evaluate, like missing URLs, we’ll share specific instructions and ask you to resubmit the request.
- You get a notification of any action taken.
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- If the submitted URLs are found to be within the scope of our policy, either the URLs will be removed for all queries or the URLs will be removed only from search results in which the query includes the complainant’s name, or other provided identifiers, such as aliases.
- If the request doesn’t meet the requirements for removal, we’ll also include a brief explanation. If your request is denied and later you have additional materials to support your case, you can re-submit your request.
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This development has been reported in Google fights doxxing with updated personal info removal policy which provides:
Google has expanded its policies to allow doxxing victims to remove more of their personally identifiable information (PII) from search engine results starting earlier this week.
Removing doxxing content (contact info shared online with malicious intent) aims to protect the victims’ privacy and substantial risks of identity theft, financial fraud, and, in some cases, the potential of physical harm.
While people already had the option to request the removal of personal data that could be used in financial fraud, such as credit card and bank account info, before this update, Google now also allows demands to delete contact information.
“Under this new policy expansion, people can now request removals of additional types of information when they find it in Search results, including personal contact information like a phone number, email address, or physical address,” said Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search.
“The policy also allows for the removal of additional information that may pose a risk for identity theft, such as confidential log-in credentials, when it appears in Search results.”
In all, the company says it will allow the removal of the following types of information:
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- Confidential government identification (ID) numbers
- Bank account numbers
- Credit card numbers
- Images of handwritten signatures
- Images of ID docs
- Highly personal, restricted, and official records, like medical records
- Personal contact info (physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses)
- Confidential login credentials
However, for this to happen, Google adds that it requires URLs submitted via content removal requests to contain your contact info.
Also, Google will only consider the requests if it finds the presence of “explicit or implicit threats, or explicit or implicit calls to action for others to harm or harass.”
Victims of doxxing or their authorized representatives can submit requests to remove personal information from Google search results via this link.
Once it goes through, you will get an automated confirmation and a notification of any action taken or a request for more info if there’s not enough information to evaluate the removal request.
You can find more info about the process, including the factors considered in each request’s evaluation and which URLs you need to submit for review, on this help page.
“The availability of personal contact information online can be jarring — and it can be used in harmful ways, including for unwanted direct contact or even physical harm,” Chang added.
“And people have given us feedback that they would like the ability to remove this type of information from Search in some cases.”
In October, Google also rolled out a new policy allowing people under the age of 18 (or one of their parents or guardians) to request the removal of links in Google Search results pointing to sites hosting their photos.