Google deletes 10 years of blog content (updated again)

As a recently inspired blogger I have entered into a realm of putting my inner most thoughts onto the internet. THE INTERNET. OH THE HUMANITY OF IT ALL! To me blogging has been a therapeutic process of getting all of the crazy creations in my mind onto something tangible. It is kind of like spring cleaning. If I don't do it, my head will likely explode thus ruining any chance I have of good head shots for my LinkedIn account. However, as I was recently reminded, with this transference comes some risk. The internet is a place fraught with hacking and identity theft and worse yet negative comments!!!! So obviously, one must be careful about what exactly is being put out there. If you don't want it to fall into nefarious hands, then keep it locked away on your hard drive or better yet, that pen and paper journal collecting dust on your desk. That seems so boring thought doesn't it? Perhaps these things are cyclical and paper is the new it thing. I digress. This blogging thing is scary.

So while I wrestle with the above conundrum of what to publish and what not to publish, I came across an article concerning Google deleting 10 years worth of blog content of a well established and noted author. Dennis Cooper has been writing for a long time and has quite the following of readers to show for it. He has written novels and poems, in addition to his blog The Weaklings. His content has always been slightly risque and sexual in nature, but compared to the black tar pit of content on the internet, it did not seem exceptionally so. Honestly, I have never read anything of his directly. I am only going off of reviews and his website which is quite interesting. Dennis Cooper recently told Vox in an interview, "Someone described my blog as a kind of experimental, alternative Wikipedia, which is not totally inaccurate, I guess."  Whatever the nature of the blog, I find it shocking that Google would without warning or explanation mark the creative works of someone for deletion. It begs the question of who owns what on the internet. I mean if Google has the ability to just delete content at will, then does the author really own it? I think that is a concept worth exploring.

Here is what you see when you click on the DC's blog link on his website.

I also use Blogger as the host for my blog rants. So Google could do the same to me or any other of the thousand of individuals that host their thoughts on this site. Why would Google do this? The stated reason that Google gave was that he had run afoul of Blogger's Content Policy. However, what specific violations could result in deleting 10 years worth of content is still a mystery. He also had never received a warning that his content was under review and could be in conflict with said policy. In fact, here are the stated actions Google can take under the policy if they find content to be in violation.

• Put the blog behind an 'adult content' interstitial
• Put the blog behind an interstitial where only the blog author can access the content
• Delete the offending content, blog post or blog
• Disable the author's access to his/her Blogger account
• Disable the author's access to his/her Google account
• Report the user to law enforcement

Clearly deletion of content is an option, however there seems to be many other options that are not as draconian in nature. To me, deletion of content should be a last resort option OR only limited to deletion of specific blog posts that run afoul of the policy. Not a general deletion that impacts all posts whether offending or not. It's similar to the government using the death penalty as a first option to deter all crimes and doing it without warning or explanation as to why they chose to use that punishment.

Since the deletion, DC has heard from Google's lawyers and there seems to be some progress towards reinstatement, but the very fact that Google can act as judge, jury and executioner over an author's creative works is scary. I think its safe to say that any content put on a blog website should also be backed up like most digital data these days. However, the loss of content here was not a result of a power outage that blew a server. This was a deliberate act without explanation. The server where the content is stored does indeed belong to someone else and therefore is subject to the owner's negligence or willful acts that could result in loss of data. The question is what obligations do these content storing websites have to their users? 

Cooper has already stated that when/if he gets his content back, he is going to move to another website and back up any future writings on his own server. This is the ultimate weapon a content creator has, but moving to another website doesn't guarantee that the same actions could not be taken again. In my mind there needs to be some written rules that establishes what these content hosts can and cannot do with the data being stored on their servers and just as important what process must be followed. I would imagine that most people do not read the Terms of Service or Content Policy before they start a blog. I did but only because I am legally trained and my eyes always seek out these fine print documents intentionally written to be ignored until they are wielded like a legal weapon of mas destruction where useful for the author's purposes. There is nothing in Google's Content Policy that details what process they must follow to enforce their Content Policy.  There is a big assumption when one agrees to be bound by such a policy that Google will fairly administrate the policy. That may not always be the case and it certainly did not seem to happen in this case. What about notice? How about a probationary period? Does the author get a chance to take down offending material? What about defending whether something is truly a violation of the policy or not. Does the author get that opportunity? Should they? There are plenty of examples in the law where notice and opportunity to correct a violation of the law is allowed for and often a preferable option. It is interesting that no such options are provided for here.

Perhaps a high profile case of this nature might make Google revise their policies. I doubt it, but if enough attention is paid you never know. There is a petition being circulated in support of the restoration of DC's works. Eventually tyrannical actions will lead to an uprising and casting off of the tyranny. This we have learned many times throughout human history. Google must be careful to not treat these acts as simply their prerogative or tempt the fate of a fickle user base that might seek another content host with less draconian policies.

8/2/16 update - Apparently Google's attorneys have broken their silence and are now speaking with DC's attorneys. There have been several media pieces written about this action and it has even garnered international attention in Europe. It will be interesting to see what Google decides to do at this point. I doubt we will ever be allowed to know why Google deleted the content.

8/26/16 update - The battle is over. Dennis is getting his blog content back! Hail the victor.