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Comment by throwaway0220 | Hacker News Reader

> Why is this dependant on receiving threats?

It is not.

From the form [1]: "...that has POTENTIAL to create significant risks of identity theft, financial fraud, harmful direct contact, or other specific harms..." (emphasis mine).

The requirements section states that you may request removal due to the page having "personally identifiable info" OR doxxing content "used in implicit or explicit threats".

Now, there's exceptions to this (e.g. public records, newsworthy content), but nowhere it says you have to receive threats first before requesting removal.

disclaimer: Googler, but no relationship with the team, and have no other knowledge of this policy other reading the public blog post.

[1] https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/9673730

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>It is not.

>... nowhere it says you have to receive threats first before requesting removal.

Oh come on now, this is taken directly from your link:

>Requirements to remove doxxing content

>For us to consider the content for removal, it must meet both of these requirements:

>1. Your contact info is present.

>2. There’s the presence of:

>- Explicit or implicit threats, or

>- Explicit or implicit calls to action for others to harm or harass.

So, yes. To remove doxxing content, you are required to show proof of explicit or implicit threats.

If you think about it, the way the requirements are set up are pretty damn backwards. Are you just requesting your personal info to be removed just for the sake of having it removed? Sure, as long as it's your CC/bank account/SSN/whatever else on that list, they'll remove it. But if you tell them you're being doxxed? Well fuck you, they won't just up and remove the data like they would've before, now you have to prove you're being targeted, too. It's like it'd be easier to have the doxxing content removed if you didn't tell them you're being doxxed.

It's confusing. The policy document lists contact info twice, and to the form is missing the "other doxxing content" option.

It looks like the form has design errors that don't match the policy.

Isn't it a tautology? When you're doxxed, your personal identifiable information was revealed to threat or shame you, so yes, you were explicitly or implicitly threatened.

The other part of the form allows you to require removal just by stating that it has your "personally identifiable information". For example, the many sites offering background checks, your address history, etc.

I agree the form is confusing and should be simplified (i.e., the whole doxxing section seems redundant to me, and should be sub-bullets of the PII section), but OP's comment that you can only request removal after receiving threats is factually incorrect.

"Is your contact information being shared with malicious, threatening, or harassing intent, which is known as doxxing?

- Yes, the contact info is being shared with doxxing intent - No, the contact info is not being shared with doxxing intent"

The headline is extremely misleading.

The policy document is slightly inconsistent with itself and inconsistent with the form options.

This was not well reviewed.

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