That post seems to be missing.

Melpomene 89 points 3 years ago

Worth noting is that a number of US states also have strong protection laws. So, delete you comments manually and then, if you're really trying to ensure that they delete your data, submit a data removal request that cites your locale's law on data removal.

Theeeeeen in 6 months or so, send a data retrieval request to make sure they followed through... and report them if they did not comply. Might as well make them pay for that data if they can't follow the rules.

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tal 17 points 3 years ago

Assuming that this is, in fact, not legal and if they have money that can be gone after, I assume that someone may start a class action suit. In theory, they're worth multiple billions, so...

An individual probably doesn't care much about whatever harm is done, as the damage is too small. But this is the kind of thing where a lawyer can walk away with a big payday by aggregating cases of many users and then getting a percentage of any payout.

I am not at all certain that it is not legal, though.

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overzeetop 3 points 3 years ago

undefined> In theory, they’re worth multiple billions, so…

wen Lambo?

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Brkdncr 5 points 3 years ago

In the US, indicate that you’re in California for the strongest legal option.

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CtrlOpenAppleReset 88 points 3 years ago

This could be worse than anything else they've done. If they claim they own the data, are they then not responsible for it like newspapers? Is it in their terms and conditions they are free to do whatever with posted information, do they have the rights to edit users comments but in doing so become a content provider and therefore responsible. Kicking mods out doesn't land you in court this seems high risk to be manipulating content. Doesn't matter why it was deleted or edited it was deleted or edited who gets to decide what version to restore. Either you are hands off or you own the data and are responsible for it and upheld to media standards.

Edit: found a snippit of the terms and conditions in a German GDPR thread, It appears it is their terms and conditions that after you post it they can do with it what they like, even adapt it. Either way that's not a reason to be gone.

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pleasemakesense 12 points 3 years ago

ToS like that does often not mean anything, they can write whatever they like but it doesn't mean they can legally enforce it. So if you are an artist posting a painting you made, reddit can't just say 'oop, it's ours now' same with text

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doublejay3000 2 points 3 years ago

I picked up a permanent ban, after 15 years for saying 'Go outside fatso' to someone who said I couldnt read. Not my proudest moment, but there you go.

The reason I mention it, is that it adds a different dynamic if they are trying retain (and prevent me from editing) data which they hold about me. They might argue that doesn't extend to post where I've written "cats > dogs" - but anything where I've refered to where I live, whether I have kids, what my political views are, are all clearly personal details which they are not allowed to hold without retaining my consent.

Clear contraventions on GDPR in EU.

https://commission.europa.eu/...

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Lowbird 2 points 3 years ago

There was that kerfuffle ages ago about u/spez editing comments in r/thedonald, iirc. It's not like it would be that much of a stretch for him at least.

But it looks like from OP's edits it may be unintentional. I'll withhold my rage for now.

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admin 42 points 3 years ago

This is shitty of them to do but this is what people have been trying to tell us since the dawn of the internet. Nothing on the internet is EVER truly deleted

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Balssh 74 points 3 years ago

I think they may underestimate EU's response here.

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Rayspekt 9 points 3 years ago

DSGVO take the wheel

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jargoggles 3 points 3 years ago

While this is true, it's sort of like being in a car accident. The other person may be in the wrong, but that doesn't exactly unwreck your car.

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booshi 1 point 3 years ago

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Mineroboter 6 points 3 years ago

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booshi 2 points 3 years ago

Do you understand how trivial it is to anonymize the data so it can still be used and monetized?

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Jon-H558 1 point 3 years ago

Yes but if they take the user name off can they keep the comment text up. For most comments they probably could unless you were putting your name or your job title and company or similar in the body of the text.

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Sleepy_ducky 6 points 3 years ago

Have a read through. It definitely relates to GDPR (and even the Right to be Forgotten). Those are our accounts, linked to our emails. It is content we generate (even Reddit admits the content is owned by the creator). So if I want to delete everything and leave no trace I should be able to.

https://www.cyberghostvpn.com/...

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booshi 1 point 3 years ago

Those are our accounts, linked to our emails, which they are free to de-associate, and freely use for whatever commercial purposes they want.

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BorgDrone 5 points 3 years ago

That's debatable. Sure. my account doesn't actually contain my name and address, but it contains almost 14 years of posts and comments. Through the years I've probably let slip enough small pieces of information about myself that a motivated person would be able to identify me. This would still make it identifiable information.

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booshi 2 points 3 years ago

Debatable? Yes, as that still hasn't been figured out at a higher level, and this is still handled on a case-by-case basis. Otherwise, they are free to keep your data, and simply no longer keep the association with your email.

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Legisign 1 point 3 years ago

Sure. my account doesn't actually contain my name and address, but it contains almost 14 years of posts and comments.

Agreed. If a person’s speaking voice falls under the GDPR (as I have found out being a phonetician and hence doing research on it), surely opinions and comments taken not individually but as a cumulated mass must do so too.

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aceca 3 points 3 years ago

If a user is commenting they have an online identifier and are thus covered. If a user has ever referenced their relationship status, location or any physical descriptor they are covered. The GDPR -- it applies.

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booshi 2 points 3 years ago

That's not what an "online identifier" is under GDPR. Those are RFID tags, cookies, device fingerprints, IP addresses, etc: https://gdpr-info.eu/recitals/no-30/

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abff08f4813c 2 points 3 years ago

Yes it is, as pointed out here https://kbin.social/... and here https://kbin.social/...

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booshi 1 point 3 years ago

These links are just going to the same post we are on? It's not linking to specific comments for me.

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aceca 2 points 3 years ago

The data subjects are identifiable if they can be directly or indirectly identified, especially by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or one of several special characteristics

By definition commenting reddit users are covered, even if they haven't posted anything otherwise identifying -- but most have either way.

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booshi 1 point 3 years ago

That's not what an "online identifier" is under GDPR. Those are RFID tags, cookies, device fingerprints, IP addresses, etc: https://gdpr-info.eu/recitals/no-30/

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nickajeglin 1 point 3 years ago

*Looks up GDPR... "EU law"

Womp womp :(

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flypenguin 2 points 3 years ago

please don't state things if you don't know what you're talking about. it absolutely applies. it's a personalized account, with a personalized email address – this is the core of GDPR. it might not apply cause reddit is not within the legislation of the EU. maybe.

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booshi 3 points 3 years ago

I do - I work with this daily. It would be a massive uphill battle to even prove in a court that your whole post history is considered "identifying". It's a case-by-base basis. On top of that, your data could still be easily stored and simply no longer associated with your email (but still can be kept if the previous cannot be proven about identification). Then this would have to be tested, on a that same case-by-case basis, for every single user that made a request.

To quote yourself, "please don't state things if you don't know what you're talking about."

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pleasemakesense 2 points 3 years ago

Doesn't matter, they'll be fined and if they refuse to pay they'll not be allowed to operate in the EU

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Jon-H558 1 point 3 years ago

If they have eu users they have to apply it. That is why many places have ip lock outs that just prevent us from.seeing it.

However if they truly anonymise the content of a post they can keep it

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Risk 2 points 3 years ago

It's not personal or identifiable we can just sell it to advertiser's to precisely target your exact person with things we think you might buy.

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abff08f4813c 1 point 3 years ago

Yes it is, as pointed out here https://kbin.social/... and here https://kbin.social/...

And also see https://kbin.social/...

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Bipta 1 point 3 years ago

Certainly some of it can be.

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Mineroboter 1 point 3 years ago

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Nexclusive 1 point 3 years ago

Personal data is any information that relates to an individual who can be directly or indirectly identified. Names and email addresses are obviously personal data. Location information, ethnicity, gender, biometric data, religious beliefs, web cookies, and political opinions can also be personal data. Pseudonymous data can also fall under the definition if it’s relatively easy to ID someone from it.

For most people, GDPR probably applies to at least some of their comments on Reddit.

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Mineroboter 1 point 3 years ago

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procgen 1 point 3 years ago

That depends on the content of the post or comment, no?

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booshi 1 point 3 years ago

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reflex 3 points 3 years ago

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Anahkiasen 40 points 3 years ago

That is such a shitty move. Forcing subreddits to go back up is one thing, but as a european this feels very wrong from a data ownership standpoint and I'm not sure it's ok in the GDPR rules?

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Anon2971 27 points 3 years ago

I think we should actively keep track of Reddit restoring user's content without people's permission. Screenshots, timestamps, everything. Monitor it all.

Maybe if Reddit go ahead with their API change whilst treating their users like such disposable crap, we could reach out to the EU to inform them of Reddit's GDPR breaches. Maybe that'd lead to their new revenue from API charges disappearing into hefty EU fines.

Update: Maybe there's going to be some loophole about actually having to use the data deletion request via Reddit's UI for there to be an actually GDPR breach though thinking about it. Going to ask around some Law friends for advise

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juergen_hubert 11 points 3 years ago

That's an excellent idea! EU regulations on the digital rights of users are not to be trifled with, and "the right to be forgotten" is a big one.

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megane_kun 5 points 3 years ago

Mightily envious of you guys over there.

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booshi -2 points 3 years ago

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aceca 9 points 3 years ago

You're all over this thread saying this, what exactly do you think "right to erasure" means?

From gdpr.info:

Since the definition includes “any information,” one must assume that the term “personal data” should be as broadly interpreted as possible.

Here's a short list of information thought not to be personal which has later been found personal:

Start end/times at work
Break times
Cultural id markers
Written answers to exam questions
Mental illness
Any physical descriptor
online identifiers (ie your reddit username which may be shared with other sites to identify you)
and plenty more

The idea that redditors do not have personal information lingering in their comments is absurd, GDPR 100% applies.

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abff08f4813c 7 points 3 years ago

Yes, it does, and yes, there is, see https://kbin.social/...

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albatros 4 points 3 years ago

I'm not sure it's ok in the GDPR rules?

That would probably be related to "right to erasure".

But even this has limits, since sometimes the data can be necessary for a service (for example, you might be unable to get invoice data erased before X years, as a legal requirement)

Since messages on forums can be considered "needed" to understand a thread, it's usually advised to make all messages anonymous if a user requests complete deletion.

I guess here it's a little different, since the messages were removed by users, so it's not a gdpr request. Not sure how it works in that case.

Other issue is if the messages themselves contain personal information... Someone going through my old reddit profile could probably figure out my identity since I mentioned one of my (very uncommon) previous job a few times.

Best way to figure out how it works here would probably be to contact the gdpr authority for your country... And they might have trouble with it too.

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masterX244 2 points 3 years ago

But even this has limits, since sometimes the data can be necessary for a service (for example, you might be unable to get invoice data erased before X years, as a legal requirement)

But then it still needs to be marked as a "DO NOT TOUCH". you aren't allowed to use it then for any other purpose.

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glitch 2 points 3 years ago

@Anahkiasen @chri5 almost certainly no bueno under GDPR.

Post content being deemed PII at user digression is already a... questionable stance to take with GDPR but probably grey enough to the point where a DPA won't bother with it while they have bigger fish to fry.

Outright going against user requested data removal tho? Yeah that's a good way to net you GDPR complaints. If the user requests their info removed, you're required to oblige unless you have a reason that amounts to something like "we need this to keep the service operational", which post content almost certainly isn't.

(ie. You're not gonna be able to GDPR your IP address or email off of the banlist.)

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Brianala 31 points 3 years ago

Earlier this week I deleted all of my comments except for some in a private sub. I just checked and all the posts I deleted are back 🤬

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roofuskit 9 points 3 years ago

Same

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Balssh 27 points 3 years ago

They really want to fuck around GDPR? Are they really Musk level morons?

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db0 23 points 3 years ago

There's certainly no chance this will backfire...

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megane_kun 20 points 3 years ago

That's awful. I wonder if there's a way to automate deleting all of our posts and replies—and repeatedly run it on a schedule via a cron job or something, maybe once an hour or something. And let it run until their API becomes locked down.

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Trebach 10 points 3 years ago

And then replace it with a Selenium script afterwards.

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megane_kun 1 point 3 years ago

If only I know enough about programming to do it.

Right now, I'm looking at an option that I can run via command line here which I can add to my cron job queue.

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Kwik 4 points 3 years ago

@megane_kun I was thinking something very similar. I'm sure there are keywords they're looking for too, like "third party apps" and "fuck /u/spez" which trigger the restore.

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megane_kun 2 points 3 years ago

Probably, though from what I've seen in the linked thread, there's no such keywords present.

What I suspect is that Reddit admins saw a rise in deletions, and put two and two together and thought it's part of the protest. They're not wrong, but still a dick move.

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chri5 4 points 3 years ago

That's not a bad idea actually. The Powerdelete script I used is based on Javascript and needs to be started manually in the browser window, I'll just run the script once a day. But maybe someone with more knowledge can come up with a more automated solution. They can't restore user accounts forever.

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megane_kun 1 point 3 years ago

I am also going to use the power delete script too, but I was still looking for a way to archive my stuff before nuking them.

I remember seeing some solutions that require an installation of a program which the user then runs on their machine.

PS: @mccord@kbin.social Has the solution I was trying to remember. It's Shreddit.

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mccord 3 points 3 years ago

I've been using this for the last few years and letting it run once a month via cronjob:
https://github.com/jdbassa/Shreddit
https://aur.archlinux.org/...

I'm sure there are other and probably newer scripts out there, though.

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megane_kun 1 point 3 years ago

Thank you!! I was trying to remember Shreddit but all I managed to remember is that it needed to be installed in one's system.

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starlinguk 19 points 3 years ago

So... They've basically just admitted that deleting your posts is bad for Reddit.

Keep going, guys.

And spezi (as we lovingly refer to you in our household), expect lawyers.

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puck2 1 point 3 years ago

I deleted some of mine but we're taking 12++ years of posts

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Varyag 17 points 3 years ago

Motherfucker! I just checked my profile, and they DID restore the posts I edited+deleted with PowerDeleteSuite. Thankfully it's just the posts from the past week or so, I had deleted my entire 8 year history before that, and that stayed deleted. I'm assuming they monitored other API access calls past the days where the blackout started to restore those.

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Brianala 8 points 3 years ago

Same here. I’m a 12 year account on Reddit and I had been in the habit of deleting my history regularly due to an ex that likes to stalk my posts. Everything recent that I deleted this week is back but the stuff I deleted prior to that is still gone.

I just went back and edited it all again to state it’s been removed in protest in favor of moving to the fediverse.

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PabloDiscobar 16 points 3 years ago

I deleted all my content but I did it over the span of a few days, to let the different caches around reddit to update with the new void, and my content is still deleted (so far).

I said it before and I say it again: if you have the patience to do so then make sure you overwrite your content with chatgpt generated content, as the future AI that will feed on your post HATE feeding on already AI generated stuff. It makes the AI diverge.

edit: Filling your previous content with random generated content also make it harder to restore because it is harder to spot, compared with the comments which are simply "deleted". Also, if all of it is really true, congratulation to reddit for demonstrating to everyone and specially the USA how useful the GDPR is for the citizen.

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sternail 16 points 3 years ago

I used Redact to schedule a daily deletion of my comments and posts. Hope it works. Also, I will report it.

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CynAq 15 points 3 years ago

That's beyond fucked up.

But also very predictable.

I think it's safe to say this fiasco isn't going anywhere without a class action lawsuit or something.

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TractorEnjoyer 7 points 3 years ago

There is EU and GDRP which reddit have to comply with.

Reddit CEO is a moron thinking they can avoid getting slapped with a fine.

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9Volt 15 points 3 years ago

Wow, out of everything that’s happened involving Reddit over the past few weeks, this to me is the most damning and deserves the most attention.

I’m really curious to see how they try to spin this in the next PR piece and what the reactions will be.

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DannyBoy 3 points 3 years ago

@9Volt @chri5 Reddit at this point doesn't care about PR.
They only care about sweet user data money. Like Google, Facebook, TikTok...

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pptouchi 15 points 3 years ago

Thats messed up! fuck spez!

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Girlparts 15 points 3 years ago

I believe this is illegal for European (under GDPR).

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BobKerman3999 14 points 3 years ago

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Omegamanthethird 4 points 3 years ago

I found some of my (assumed deleted) messages today that weren't actually listed under my profile any longer. But they were still on the post with my name on it.

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LChitman 13 points 3 years ago

Would this actually be a GDPR breach? I was thinking about the right to erasure/to be forgotten earlier in relation to a post I saw about how your posts aren't deleted on other federated instances, if you delete them on your home server. But I figured it wasn't applicable because it's not personal data and I'm thinking the same about this Reddit issue. Can anyone set me straight?

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abff08f4813c 9 points 3 years ago

Well, people have reported Twitter for failing to remove their tweets and places like the ICO are now actively investigating Twitter over this failure, see https://www.wired.co.uk/...

Someone posted not too long ago that a person who was part of Twitter’s group over the GDPR - pre Musk - said the lawyers came to the conclusion that tweets were protected under the GDPR.

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LChitman 1 point 3 years ago

Thanks, that's a good point and sets a precedent. I had a reply in another thread with the definition of personal data from GDPR and it would seem to include social media posts:

'personal data' means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;

https://kbin.social/...

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abff08f4813c 13 points 3 years ago

Also worth noting: according to the ToS Reddit can actually do whatever they want with existing content, apparently we agreed to this when signing up.

Been thinking about that. I don't think that overrules laws like the GDPR though - law triumphs over ToS. And under GDPR, consent can be withdrawn, you can't give an irrevokable consent.

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SphereofWreckening 4 points 3 years ago

IANAL but wouldn't this be on par with creating a contract or NDA with illegal elements? Wherein the contract/NDA are no longer considered valid/become void as a result. Obviously this wouldn't apply to the US and several other countries, and Reddit also has lawyers. Realistically I'm also just some dingus so someone smarter may know

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abff08f4813c 4 points 3 years ago

It's probably the case that the rest of the ToS applies except for that one specific element, which is severable. This what I've usually read in contracts (IANAL either but I used to work in a business that required a lot of proofing of contracts).

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PixxlMan 3 points 3 years ago

Totally. When quitting, make sure to file a GDPR takedown request on your account. If reddit doesn't comply, they could be fined quite handsomely.

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booshi 3 points 3 years ago

So they will delete your email address, and still freely use your content for whatever uses. Oh no!

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Screak42 3 points 3 years ago

yes and no. unfortunately it’s in many cases not overly difficult for a company to justify the still need this data after sich request. but it’s something at least

https://gdpr.eu/....

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lackthought 13 points 3 years ago

wow I just checked and all my deleted comments are restored (used the power delete suite)

jokes on them, I’m petty enough to sit here and manually delete everything

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freebrick 2 points 3 years ago

Do you really think there is a difference between deletion through api or manual? In both cases they don't really delete the content.

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Lasairiona 12 points 3 years ago

Quick and dirty Google search says GDPR law is complicated when it comes to backups https://www.itgovernance.eu/...

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exscape 18 points 3 years ago

Even if having backups of the data is legal, it seems highly doubtful that restoring data that a user intentionally deleted would be allowed.

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BBKuma 11 points 3 years ago

I manually deleted most of my comments but left a few and decided to go and edit them with AI rephrasing as someone suggested. I mostly deleted the older comments and got confused when I saw 2 comments reappear. This makes sense now.

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MiddleWeigh 10 points 3 years ago

This just feels really shitty to me at like a basic level. The rest of the shenanigans were just your typical shitty corporate stuff. This feels a bit more like it could have pretty large ramifications.

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jugalator 10 points 3 years ago

If this is not a bug, it's pretty wild. I don't think this is even compliant to GDPR as for European users unless there is legal obligation or for archiving in public interest, scientific progress etc. I have a hard time seeing protection for Reddit here as it's just a social news site, there's no way around that. It's not a bundle of research papers and the police hasn't come knocking on their door asking them to recover content.

See The right to erasure (Article 17 & 19).

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millions 10 points 3 years ago

GDPR laws take the wheel

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TheFriendless 9 points 3 years ago

Has anyone tried phoning a GDPR focused lawyer firm? I just did a google and they offer a "free consultation" I would like to get the facts 100% before raising my pitchfork.

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ajar7 5 points 3 years ago

Noyb.eu is the nonprofit you are looking for.

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Glench 9 points 3 years ago

I recently made a browser extension that deletes your reddit posts or comments. It's not quite as advanced as PowerDelete yet but it's easier to install and I'm actively developing it: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bulk-delete-reddit-posts/nbfdoajmaaohkohdnbpjakamhcaaleco?hl=en&authuser=0

Let me know if you try it!

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generalpotato 1 point 3 years ago

I tired mine with PDS just now. And it sounds like it’ll make a come back. I’ll try yours next!

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aeternum 1 point 3 years ago

Nice work!

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Frog-Brawler 9 points 3 years ago

Likely not the popular opinion here; but I’m not going to go through the trouble of re-deleting any posts they might have restored. That’s just additional frustration for me. I’m not going to go over to Reddit and provide them additional traffic to go look at something I did write on their platform at one point. I’m just moving on.

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mfz 5 points 3 years ago

I think they're creating enough trouble for themselves anyway just by constantly shooting themselves in the head. Also moving on is probably the least good thing for them. Losing users gradually will bleed them to death.

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PhreakyByNature 2 points 3 years ago

Nah I get it. I haven't even deleted my 11 years of contributions yet. I don't mind it existing as it wasn't particularly helpful stuff anyway, but part of me did wanna replace all text with "Redacted due to API" or something but feel that will just flag content restores on their side.

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AaronSwartz 1 point 3 years ago

Redacted due to fuck u/spez

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linoor 8 points 3 years ago

Probably better to replace your comments with some gibberish generated by chatgtp instead of deleting them. It will be much harder to figure out on mass scale if the edit was legit or not compared to them just looking for recently deleted comments or comments that mention something like “comment deleted by x tool”.

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GreyHouseElf 1 point 3 years ago

I've started playing around with gpt4all recently, these are some comments it generated for this:

As a content creator, I am outraged to learn that Reddit is restoring comments that users have deliberately deleted. This blatant disregard for intellectual property rights is a slap in the face to all those who work tirelessly to create original and engaging content. It's clear that Reddit values their own interests above those of the very community they claim to serve. As long as this practice continues, I will no longer participate in or support this failing social media platform.

Reddit has once again demonstrated its contempt for user privacy by selling user data to third-party advertisers without consent. This blatant disregard for the rights and dignity of their users is appalling, and it's clear that Reddit values profit over people. As long as this practice continues, I will no longer participate in or support this failing social media platform.

This site has been showing total disrespect for user privacy by selling data to third-party advertisers without even asking first. It's like they don't care about people's rights or anything, just the almighty dollar. And it's not like we can even opt out of it either! I mean, come on already. If this keeps up, I'm gonna have to find another place to hang out online.

Damn, Reddit is really screwing up by bringing back comments that people have deleted! It's like they don't care about intellectual property rights or the creators who work hard to make original content. This just shows that they only care about themselves and not the community they claim to support. Until they stop this crap, I'm done with them.

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Iceblade02 8 points 3 years ago

Wow! Just realized reddit has done this to my comments as well.

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Jimmni 7 points 3 years ago

I’ve seen comments suggesting it’s something to do with PowerDelete. I used Shreddit to overwrite and delete mine and they’re still gone.

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Brianala 9 points 3 years ago

I deleted mine manually using the edit > delete on each comment individually and mine came back.

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olrik 1 point 3 years ago

How do you know they came back? Do you see them agin in your profile? I used Power Delete Suite and except for 2 subreddits I can see no posts I made over the 14 last years in my profile? How do I make sure they have actually been deleted?

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atxlvr 0 points 3 years ago

stop spamming the same question

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olrik 2 points 3 years ago

Sorry my comment got posted twice, it was not my intention, I think it's due to a bug.

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khubiliajahn 1 point 3 years ago

I used Redacted and posts and comments are reappearing after I confirmed they were gone on the website. I then manually deleted and some have come back.

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lamentforicarus 1 point 3 years ago

I used shreddit and mine are all back.

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rastilin 6 points 3 years ago

"Their" content.

EDIT: I mean, I agree that this is a new low even for social media. I think Stack Overflow made a similar statement when they stopped exporting to the internet archive, "their" content, not the user's content on their site. The users disagreed and I think the export has restarted, but it definitely shows you what the new group of CEOs think of their communities.

I'm definitely sticking to using only federated social media going forward, even for marketing.

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matzah 6 points 3 years ago

So, so, so glad I deleted my entire account. This is so unethical.

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CynAq 13 points 3 years ago

I'm sorry to say this but, they probably restored all of your posts too. It will just say "deleted" as your username but the posts and comments will be in their old place.

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effingjoe 13 points 3 years ago

As I understand it (and I may not!) deleting your account leaves all your comments in place, but without your username.

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chri5 2 points 3 years ago

That should be the policy but Reddit states it can take up to 90 days to disconnect content from a user profile and personally - I wouldn't bet on it if it seems they are doing this manually (why else would this take 90 days?).

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fear 5 points 3 years ago

It makes me wonder if they would restore wiped comments from accounts that have been deleted?

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VulcanSphere 6 points 3 years ago

The Lord of Snoo, spez has unleashed a dick move towards the platform.

Gonna love the Snoo Platform, Inc. panic mode in action.

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frasassi 6 points 3 years ago

They are going full send on pissing everyone off at this point

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SterlingVapor 5 points 3 years ago

Here's the thing - everything rots. Code and data included.

Not participating is more than enough - better that the data is preserved anyways. Restoring it is ice chips to a starving man, it'll help, but not for long

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db0 5 points 3 years ago

Warning, someone on reddit mentioned this is a known bug of the application used

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crazyminner 5 points 3 years ago

Just wait a bit then delete your data. They can't keep an eye on it forever.

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HeartyBeast 5 points 3 years ago

Perhaps delete and replace the comment with text that explicitly claims copyright on the deleted message and denies Reddit a license to use the deleted content? It would be good to get a legal eagle willing to look at the Reddit user agreement and content licensing and see if there is a legally literate way of denying them use deleted content once it has been submitted.

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Trebach 5 points 3 years ago

If you're in the EU, submit a request to have it purged. If they refuse, that's a violation of the GDPR.

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flybynightpotato 4 points 3 years ago

Under the law, they also HAVE to respond to all requests within a month, regardless of whether they intend to comply. So it seems like it would be possible to completely overwhelm them with GDPR erasure requests and let them panic.

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NecoArcKbinAccount 4 points 3 years ago

wait if the account is deleted can they still restore the comments?

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dan 6 points 3 years ago

When an account is deleted, all the comments still exist, the author's name just changes to "[deleted]". You'd need to use a third-party tool that deletes all the comments individually, or potentially send them a GDPR or CCPA "right to be forgotten" request (although I'm unsure as to if this actually deletes the comments).

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NecoArcKbinAccount 1 point 3 years ago

I had done that, but now I'm concerned they'll somehow pull the comments up even though the account is removed

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OmnipotentEntity 1 point 3 years ago

In practice, it's hard to know exactly how Reddit structures the data they have and what exactly a delete actually does and what backups they have.

That being said, it's not out of the question that you could delete your post history, then your account, and reddit only restores your post history and not your account, leaving you unable to delete it again.

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TWeaK 0 points 3 years ago

Hijacking the top comment to say: PowerDeleteSuite doesn't get everything. It can only see what's in your reddit profile under New, Top, Hot & Controversial - there will be numerous posts that are too old with only 1 or a few karma that aren't displayed in these lists. In particular, if you go through your top posts of all time, you might find some replies to these posts that you made that the script did not see.

The GDPR archive gives a full list of all the comments. What we need is a FOSS script that can use these csv files to get everything. Apparently Shreddit can take the csv files, however you have to pay $15 to use this feature.

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Jon-H558 1 point 3 years ago

I've already given $30 to kbin as a fuck you to Reddit what's $15 more

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balance_sheet 1 point 3 years ago

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rarkgrames 4 points 3 years ago

I mass edited my posts to all say fuck /u/spez with redact and most appear to be back. I shall edit them again and if they come back I shall do it again and again. I can play this game as long as it takes.

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balance_sheet 4 points 3 years ago

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abff08f4813c 4 points 3 years ago

Does anyone know if we have similar rights under PIPEDA here in Canada? Can we use that to legally enforce deletion in the same way?

https://blog.rsisecurity.com/...

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thek3nger 3 points 3 years ago

Holy damn. I deleted all my comments and my account ~a week ago. I don't even know how to check if they restored something. 😠

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FirmRip 7 points 3 years ago

I overwrote and then deleted all of my 14 year comment/post history and it came back complete. I hate to say it, but my guess is that it'll all get restored.

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lamentforicarus 3 points 3 years ago

That's ok. I am petty enough to constantly delete my stuff.

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can 2 points 3 years ago

You'll have to do it manually for July.

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Bipta 1 point 3 years ago

"Manually" just means without the API.

I hope Reddit likes scraper bots consuming full webpages instead; surely that's cheaper for them. /s

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asjmcguire 3 points 3 years ago

Currently I only have 2 comments still visible which for some reason the Power Delete tool couldn't remove. I will check back in a week though if someone can remind me, and see if any of mine have magically reappeared.

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HeartyBeast 10 points 3 years ago

!RemindMe .... oh, no.

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Lasairiona 5 points 3 years ago

I feel ya... Put in a feature request?

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XanXic 1 point 3 years ago

Dang that made me realize Lemmy could really innovate where reddit stagnated. Being able to just make some of Reddits old bots into features would be amazing.

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50gp 3 points 3 years ago

looks like my comments deleted before blackout started are still deleted, so did they restore only more recent deletions?

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chri5 3 points 3 years ago

Possibly, but several people reported some old post have been restored as well, some deleted a long time ago.

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thek3nger 3 points 3 years ago

Holy damn. I deleted all my comments and my account ~a week ago. I don't even know how to check if they restored something. 😠

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khab 1 point 3 years ago

Check a thread you know you wrote something in?

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NorthernLightMountain 3 points 3 years ago

What the actual fuck?

This really is getting worse by the minute..

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bad_luck_charm 2 points 3 years ago

My money is on this being a big due to the huge influx of comment updates and deletions. I can’t imagine they would do something this blatant on purpose.

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ThorrJo 2 points 3 years ago

I can’t imagine they would do something this blatant on purpose.

We are at the peak of the "AI" hype cycle, where training data is a huge asset. Never underestimate the power of $$$ (or the illusion of it) being waved under somebody's nose.

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SpezCanLigmaBalls 2 points 3 years ago

Lmao they are so desperate

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ciechom 2 points 3 years ago

Wow, that's really shitty on Reddit's part.

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generalpotato 2 points 3 years ago

Just deleted mine via PDS for an account of over 9yrs. Let’s see if these guys revert it. Might take the GDPR route if they don’t let up.

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DarkThoughts 2 points 3 years ago

That link is just too request the bulk of your data. It's not a form to request deletion of all your data. Technically you could request that, but if they deny out ignore that, then there's not a whole lot you can do unless you're ready to take it to court.

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Trebach 12 points 3 years ago

If you're in the EU, report it to the Data Protection Authority in your country. They must provide you with a copy of your data and also purge it upon request.

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Bloonface 6 points 3 years ago

The EU or the UK. The Information Commissioners Office would take an exceptionally dim view of this shit.

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HeartyBeast 2 points 3 years ago

I'm not sure whether under GDPR your posts would be classified as Personal Identifiable Information - which is what the GDPR is mainly about

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Mineroboter 1 point 3 years ago

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HeartyBeast 1 point 3 years ago

Informative. Thank you

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booshi 1 point 3 years ago

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spainball 1 point 3 years ago

What if you post a photo of yourself (like they do in AMAs). Surely it ties your profile to your "natural person" then and would subject all your content (since its connected to your profile) to be covered by GDPR?

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flybynightpotato 1 point 3 years ago

I think one could make an argument that data Reddit has falls into the category: "Personal data basically means any information about a living person, where that person either is identified or could be identified. Personal data can cover various types of information, such as name, date of birth, email address, phone number, address, physical characteristics, or location data – once it is clear to whom that information relates, or it is reasonably possible to find out." People post all kinds of information on Reddit that leads back to their identity, making it reasonably possible to find out who they are (hence why people get doxxed). https://www.dataprotection.ie/sites/default/files/uploads/2019-07/190710%20Data%20Protection%20Basics.pdf

Edit: But that said, there are exceptions where entities may retain data in furtherance of other objectives, and erasing data isn't the same as formally requesting its removal, so while this is all super shitty and shady, it might not actually be illegal. We need the data privacy experts to weigh in!

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itsonlybrad 1 point 3 years ago

@chri5 @Rairii jerk move. Can confirm a smattering of my edited and removed comments have been restored as well as removed submissions.

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someguy3 0 points 3 years ago

While there's some value in old threads, the real value is in new ones. Deleting old comments won't amount to much.

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parrot-party 10 points 3 years ago

I regularly find old threads when Google searching. There is absolutely value in old comments.

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namastex 6 points 3 years ago

💯

Most people who use reddit or have used reddit tend to Google everything by putting "Reddit" somewhere in their searches now.

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overzeetop 10 points 3 years ago

I'd be willing to bet a lot of traffic is driven to Reddit via Google queries (Lord knows that Reddit's own search engine can't find shit). Removing data will reduce hits or, if Google doesn't update their cached database, will result in people avoiding reddit because every time they go there it's just deleted comments.

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someguy3 1 point 3 years ago

I think most (not all) is the normal lurkers browsing all.

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