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[ NNSquad ] Google account suspensions vs. transparency


Google account suspensions vs. transparency

http://j.mp/NqAryO  (IT World)

   "I felt bereft, lost in the wilderness, a creature void of form. I was
    burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail, poisoned in the bushes
    and blown out on the trail. (Sorry, when I get anxious I start
    channeling Bob Dylan lyrics. It's a musical form of Tourettes.)  What
    exactly had I done to deserve this? That notice wasn't much help.
    Either I had somehow violated G+'s Names Policy, which requires I used
    my "common name," or I had broken one of the rules in the G+ terms of
    service."

 - - -

This class of event represents my longest-standing unresolved
criticism of Google -- in this case lack of transparency regarding
problem situations, as a subcategory of my broader concerns regarding
Google user support and issue escalation/resolution procedures.
Usually, it turns out that Google's reasons for such suspensions are
valid, but this still does not (as far as I'm concerned) justify
keeping affected users so much in the dark about what they might have
done wrong.  There are cases where Google is legally prohibited from
discussing details (for example, if child abuse of any sort is
suspected various privacy laws are instantly triggered).  Nor (quite
reasonably) does Google want to give out so much detail that gaming
the system would become easier.  But all that said, there is much room
for improvement on Google's part in this area.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
 - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren 
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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