Some people are victims of a offensive blog, want the offensive content removed - and find the Blogger Help: Report inappropriate content and the Google Help: Removing Content From Google forms inadequate.
How do I supply details of a blog which includes harassment or bullying content? I need to show the offense.
Some Blogger / Google forms, which are intended to feed Google Legal, simply allow us to state the URL of an offensive blog. There is not place to state exactly why a blog may be offensive, for all form selections.
There will be some cases where we may have to take action, ourselves - and start with court action.
In some cases - possibly depending upon seriousness of offense - Google Legal appears to only want us to report the URL of a problem blog.
In the past, we would advise providing details of offense, when reporting.
Previously, we would advise providing details, to identify specific offense - or where the offense is present, in the blog. This appears to be no longer relevant, in some form entries.
Be very very specific why you believe that they should be legally required to remove, or edit the content of, the blog in question.
With some offenses being reported currently, only the blog URL is requested.
Detail of offense, with some problem blogs, now appears to be a matter for Google to identify, on their own. Possibly, this encourages us to only reports problems which are blatantly obvious.
If the offense, in a problem blog, is subtle, it may not be relevant to them. In some cases, what is offensive to us may not be legally actionable for Google.
In some cases, an offended person may have to take legal action, on their own.
If you report a problem blog, using the appropriate form, and you wait patiently - and no action is taken - you may have to take action on your own.
This is where you hire a lawyer - and get a court order from a sitting judge, that supports your needs. Then, you must submit your court order, properly.
All offensive #Blogger blogs do not appear to require the same level of detail, when reported to Blogger / Google. In some cases, we can only report a blog URL - and Google Legal will take it from there.
We continue to see signs of innovative publishing technique, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about deleted / suspended Blogger accounts, and deleted blogs.My Blogger account was just deleted! I have gotten a few DMCA complaints, in the past - but I always deleted the offending posts! Why were all of my blogs just deleted?
This blog owner does not understand that multiple offenses must be resolved, to avoid abuse classification - and eventual account deletion.
Young children are always testing the limits, to see what behaviour they can get away with, before penalties are imposed, by their parents.
Spammers, like children, like to test the limits.
Spammers like to test the limits, in Blogger. They will publish multiple blogs, simultaneously, each with different innovative content / technique (aka borderline spam) - then wait to see what blogs get deleted. This is also known as "mapping the boundaries".
Mapping the boundaries, in Blogger, can have unpleasant consequences. Like any parent, Blogger / Google has some patience - but their patience has limits.
Blogger / Google describe what the limits are based on - but not where they are.
Blogger / Google define the limits, in their Google: Terms Of Service, and Blogger: Blogger Content Policy references. Blogger blog owners are advised to stay well within the limits.
Like any legal policy, "terms are subject to change", without warning. And, they are subject to interpretation, by Blogger Policy Enforcement, and by Google Legal. If you repeatedly test the limits, expect to be treated appropriately.
Consequences, for exceeding the limits, may not be pleasant.
The consequences, for blog owners exceeding the limits, are gradual - but finite. The intermediate and long term effects may not be pleasant.
When the final limit is exceeded, and penalties are imposed, the blog owner may have to start over, with a new account and new blogs.
The best advice is to stay well within the stated limits.
Don't test the limits, if you want to publish a Blogger blog, with any real future. Publish good original content, that informs and interests your readers. And, publish regularly. That is how you get traffic, to your blog.
We see various complaints, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about perceived poor response, in removing offensive blogs.I've reported this blog, repeatedly, for impersonating me - and it's still online!
orThat other blog was removed from service after only a couple of days! Why is this blog still online??
These bloggers do not understand that complaint volume, against different blogs, can affect how promptly Blogger Policy / Google Legal can take action, and remove problem blogs.
Various details affect how many complaints are placed, against any blog.
- Offensiveness. A blatantly offensive blog will offend more people - and will be reported by more people, than a mildly offensive blog.
- Traffic. An offensive blog that gets hundreds of hits daily will be seen by more people, than a blog that gets a few hits daily - and will be reported by more people.
- Victims. An offensive blog that attacks hundreds of people will get reported more than a blog that is only personally offensive, to a few people.
Each of these minor details will cause some blogs to attract more complaints - and to be examined sooner, by Blogger and by Google staff.
Blogger Policy Review and Google Legal prioritise blog investigation, based on complaint report volume.
Blogs which get hundreds of complaints will receive attention sooner than blogs which only get a few complaints. In some cases, the complaint volume may even be used as a major factor, in the final decision to terminate the blog. This is simple business practice, and one more principle of Risk Management.
Knowing that complaint volume affects resolution speed, do not make unnecessary multiple complaints - maybe under multiple accounts or names. Google Security uses sophisticated traffic analysis techniques in dealing with denial of service attacks - such as referer spam, and brute force password guessing. They can apply similar techniques to determine that multiple abuse complaints, against specific blogs, are coming from one person.
Don't subject your computer, or Google account, to placement in a "Denial Of Service" complaint offender database, from detected multiple attempts to have a mildly offensive (or personally offensive) blog deleted, for odd reasons - such as you need to delete your blog, but forgot the password.
Don't misuse the abuse reporting system. Remember that the other blog owners have rights.
Report an offensive blog once - then, be patient. And let Google Legal objectively evaluate the content of the blog in question.
