[LINK] How to ask Google to delete everything?

[Marghanita da Cruz]

Roger,

It is impossible to delete information once it has been imparted. Lots of
organisations would retain personal data, about a past relationship, in
Archives and Backups.

So, the emphasis should be on monitoring that organisations are not
collecting unnecessary data. I recall a cold caller, stating they were from
Telstra, asking me for my date of birth for verification to protect my privacy.

However, under Australian Privacy Laws aren't we are entitled to ask what
information is being held?

Checking privacy link at google.com gives the following (Note I have tried
to insert links where they appear on the webpages) and then the source webpage:
> Transparency and choice
> 
> People have different privacy concerns. Our goal is to be clear about what information we collect, so that you can make meaningful choices about how it is used. For example, you can:
> 
>     * Review and control certain types of information tied to your Google Account by using Google Dashboard.
>     * View and edit your ads preferences, such as which categories might interest you, using the Ads Preferences Manager. You can also opt out of certain Google advertising services here.
>     * Use our editor to see and adjust how your Google Profile appears to particular individuals.
>     * Control who you share information with.
>     * Take information out<http://www.dataliberation.org/> of many of our services.
...
> Information we share
> 
> We do not share personal information with companies, organizations and individuals outside of Google unless one of the following circumstances apply:
> 
>     *
> 
>       With your consent
> 
>       We will share personal information with companies, organizations or individuals outside of Google when we have your consent to do so. We require opt-in consent for the sharing of any sensitive personal information. 
..
> Enforcement
> 
> We regularly review our compliance with our Privacy Policy. We also adhere to several self regulatory frameworks.<http://www.google.com.au/intl/en/policies/privacy/frameworks/>

source: http://www.google.com.au/intl/en/policies/privacy/

> Self Regulatory Frameworks
> 
> Last modified: March 1, 2012
> 
> Google complies with the US-EU Safe Harbor Framework and the US-Swiss Safe Harbor Framework as set forth by the US Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use and retention of personal information from European Union member countries and Switzerland. Google has certified that it adheres to the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles of notice, choice, onward transfer, security, data integrity, access and enforcement. To learn more about the Safe Harbor program, and to view Google's certification, please visit the Safe Harbor website. <http://export.gov/safeharbor/>

Source: http://www.google.com.au/intl/en/policies/privacy/frameworks/

Any comments on the Safe Harbour framework?

Marghanita

Roger Clarke wrote:
> Here is my quick attempt to provide instructions.
> (Thanks to several people who have provided assistance!).
> 
> **BUT** All that Google lets you do is delete your account.
>          Google keeps your data, even if you delete your account.
>          So you may want to read the second half of this email first.
> 
> ________________________________________________________________________
> 
> TO DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT:
> 
> 1. Go to <http://google.com/history>http://google.com/history
> 
> There are two possibilities.
> 
> A.  You may be already signed-in (whether you know it or not).
>      [They try very hard to get you to stay logged-in all the time]
> 
>      If so, you will need to start at 2 in the list below.
> 
> B.  You may need to sign in.
> 
> In this case, you should see a 'Sign in' box on the right.
> 
> 1. Sign In using whatever the Email-address was that you gave to
>     Google when you set the account up, and the associated Password
> 
>     [You may have difficulties if you haven't used the account for a
>     while, because some email-addresses are killed off periodically.]
> 
> 2. Click on the arrow at the top right, at the end of your email-address
> 
> 3. Click on 'Privacy'
> 
> 4. Click on 'Privacy tools', at the top of the shaded area on the right
> 
> 5. Click on 'Google Dashboard' at the top of that page
> 
> 6. Click on 'Manage account' at the top of the shaded area on the right
> 
> 7. Click on 'Close entire account and delete all services and info ...'
> 
>     That should offer you a deletion page that looks like this:
>     http://www.privacy.org.au/Papers/GoogleDelete-120301.tiff
> 
>     Clicking all the right boxes should result in a confirmation:
>     "Your account has been deleted"
> 
> 8. Click on 'Go to web history' and follow the instructions there as well
> 
> 9. You may need to click on each service in the list that you see, in turn,
>     because you might have used lots of services that need to be deleted
>     individually.
> 
> [After I finished preparing that, this page was drawn to my attention:
> http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=32046&topic=14
> [It helps a little, but not all that much.]
> 
> ________________________________________________________________________
> 
> **BUT**
> 
> YOUR DATA HAS NOT BEEN DELETED.
> 
> All that the process described above does is close your account.
> 
> So YOU can never see the data again.
> 
> But Google has kept it, and can do whatever it likes with it.
> 
> (This afternoon, there are a few minor constraints on what they can 
> do with it.  But the company claims that it can change the Terms any 
> time it wants to, without notice.  So it can do anything it likes 
> with your data).
> 
> 
> If you think that Google's ability to keep your data forever is terrible
> 
> COMPLAIN TO ALL OF THESE PEOPLE:
> 
> mailto:iflynn at google.com (Iarla Flynn, Public Policy, Google Australia)
> mailto:Rod.Sims at accc.gov.au (Chair of the ACCC)
> mailto:Timothy.Pilgrim at oaic.gov.au (Privacy Commissioner)
> 
> ________________________________________________________________________
> 


-- 
Marghanita da Cruz
Ramin Communications (Sydney)
Website: http://ramin.com.au
Phone:(+612) 0414-869202