Reddit user alleges California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) non-compliance/violation; and finds it difficult to delete posts and content on Reddit : reddit

this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2023

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Reddit user alleges California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) non-compliance/violation; and finds it difficult to delete posts and content on Reddit (youtube.com)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by malloc to c/reddit

157 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Video description as of 2023-06-23 10:15 PDT:

This video shows that Reddit refused to delete all comments and posts of its users when they close their account via a CCPA / GDPR request. Posts and comments may contain PII. Specifically, Reddit tells users that they must delete the content themselves, which isn't realistic if a user creates a lot of posts. Even if a user does delete their content, Reddit restores the content within a few days.

Video transcript:

2023-06-13 @ 15:15 PDT: user states he deleted all posts and comments
2023-06-16 @ 10:15 PDT (3 days later): user states all posts and comments have been restored
2023-06-19: user decides to submit a legal request under CCPA to delete content
2023-06-19 @ 11:07 PDT: user receives reply from "Reddit Legal Support" (RLS) which states they will delete the account but not the content associated with the account. It is up to the owner of the account to remove the content [e-mail contents reproduced below]

Reddit Legal Support (Reddit Support)
Jun 19, 2023, 11:07 PDT

Hello,

We would be happy to help you delete your Reddit account if you have one. Before we proceed please note:

 1. Account deletion is irreversible.
 2. Posts and comments must be separately deleted before deleting your account. If not separately deleted, the content of the posts and comments will remain visible and disassociated from any account. If you want your posts and comments removed, follow the instructions on our help page. 

Once the above mentioned information is removed to your satisfaction, please submit your deletion request by using your Reddit account and this form so we know it's really you making the request.

More information about account deletion is available in our Privacy Policy.

Kind regards,

Reddit Legal Support

2023-06-19 @ 12:02 PDT: user replies back to RLS stating it is unrealistic expectation for end user to manually delete and alleges violation of CCPA [reply reproduced below]

Hello,

If I understand your response properly, you are refusing to delete all data associated with my account. I believe this is illegal and in violation of the CPR. In this case the onus is on you, Reddit, to delete all of the content associated with my account. 

It is besides the point but last week I already deleted all of the posts and comments associated with my account. However Reddit has since restored most of the content.

It is untenable to demand all users to manually delete content when Reddit itself does not provide a self-serve mechanism to mass-delete content. Some users have thousands of posts and millions of comments. 

Just as a reminder, my CPA request to delete my account and all associated data was made on June 19th 2023 and must be completed by August 3rd 2023.

2023-06-24 @ 10:45 PDT: user has not received a reply from RLS. He decided to painstakingly delete all posts and comments while screen recording the effort. Video continues with the user manually deleting posts for his account (https://www.reddit.com/user/nucleocide). Then fast forwards to the end of the segment where the last posts are deleted
2023-06-25 @ 10:25 PDT: user discovers posts and comments are restored, again

User concludes video and clarifies why this is a violation of CCPA:

At this point it appears impossible to manually delete posts and comments on Reddit and expect them to stay deleted. 

By not deleting all posts and comments in an automated way there is no way to guarantee that no PII [Personally Identifiable Information] has been left behind.

For example ...

<user gives example of a comment from 6 months ago on his account which includes his real first name and last name. Screen capture shows the comment was edited recently>

Since there is no guarantee that every single post and comment is free from PII, Reddit must delete all comments and posts from an account upon receiving a GDPR / CPA request.

Reddit Discussion on "/r/videos": https://old.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/14je01k/reddit_may_be_violating_the_fucking_ccpa/

[2023-06-23 14:52 PDT] edit ~ formatting, fix title typo

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[–] Maggoty 21 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (3 children)

Well shoot. I'm in California these days and recently deleted all my comments on Reddit. I'll have to monitor and see if they come back...

Edit - update, it looks like they've restored some but not others. That might have something to do with the multiple overwrites I did.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 years ago

Since some have been restored you can now file a complaint with California. https://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company

[–] overzeetop 9 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Lots of zombie posts. I had to run power delete every day for 7 days before it stopped seeing posts reappear.

Edit: as others have mentioned, the posts in locked subs don't appear to be visible or, at least, deleteable by PDS. When subs reopen the posts re-appear. I just had all my Plex posts pop back up when the mods caved to "popular" opinion and reopened. I put popular in quotes because I presume all polls are now being brigaded by the administration.

[–] Maggoty 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yeah I should have kept it going for a few more days.

[–] overzeetop 5 points 2 years ago

But you shouldn’t have to, really.

[–] NuclearArmWrestling 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Mine came back. If I'm using a VPN out of the EU, would the GDPR apply to me?

[–] aphonefriend 4 points 2 years ago

It applies to EU citizens.