> Mark asked if Mr. Hillard could tell Google that he was innocent so he could get his account back. “You have to talk to Google,” Mr. Hillard said, according to Mark. “There’s nothing I can do.” Mark appealed his case to Google again, providing the police report, but to no avail…
> A Google spokeswoman said the company stands by its decisions, even though law enforcement cleared the two men
Second, what is Google to do? Clearly the picture is not ok, I mean hopefully we can agree on that. Yes it isn't reason to suspect child abuse, but it isn't ok to spread either, which is of course what Google is worried about.
Going through the account and removing this picture is ... also very much not ok. Hell, not even just because of the privacy invasion that would be. On what basis would they declare things safe? There is no guidance in the law on what is allowed.
The government just throws the entire thorny problem on Google and then declares itself not available for comment.
So I don't see what you want Google to do here. I don't see what options they have. Restoring access to the account may be a crime for Google (that might turn out to be "knowingly" allowing the spread of CSAM). Going through the account and removing the material is fraught with problems too, starting with the impossibility for Google to declare material safe, as well as privacy issues.