April 28, 2022

Google has announced that it is expanding its removal policies globally in response to growing user demand and evolving norms regarding the threat of easy access to contact information.

“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 include doxxing, which is when your contact info is shared in a malicious way,” Google’s statement said.

Requirements for the removal of personal data include confidential government identification (ID) numbers; bank account numbers and credit card numbers.

Others include images of handwritten signatures, images of ID docs; highly personal, restricted and official records such as medical records, personal contact info (physical addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses); and confidential login credentials.

Google will only consider removing the content if it meets two conditions, which include the presence of a user’s contact information and the presence of explicit or implicit threats or explicit or implicit calls for action on behalf of others to harm or harass others.

The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.