OC Updated: Reddit is quietly restoring deleted AND overwritten posts and comments

Another update and possibly a solution for some case where posts were not properly deleted. Seems I jumped the gun on this and the restores haven't been intentional - at least not in this particular case.

There is a limitation in the popular Powerdelete that apparently prevents mass editing. Here is a link to a new version with a build-in delay and some other alternatives:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/145fico/comment/jnl4xmr/

There are other reported cases where manually deleted post reappeared or other scripts have been used, so this doesn't solve all issues but explains how posts that were both edited and deleted withPowerdelete weren't properly deleted and reappeared after subs went back live.

Update: As some have pointed out: the restores can be rollbacks from the server issues or post haven't been properly deleted due to subs being private during blackouts. Many have experienced the same issue, I can't explain how this happens. I'll just run the script again, try the GDPR request and delete my account.

Also worth noting: according to the ToS Reddit can actually do whatever they want with existing content, apparently we agreed to this when signing up.

Lasairiona,

Quick and dirty Google search says GDPR law is complicated when it comes to backups https://www.itgovernance.eu/blog/en/the-gdpr-how-the-right-to-be-forgotten-affects-backups-2

exscape,
exscape avatar

Even if having backups of the data is legal, it seems highly doubtful that restoring data that a user intentionally deleted would be allowed.

rastilin,

"Their" content.

EDIT: I mean, I agree that this is a new low even for social media. I think Stack Overflow made a similar statement when they stopped exporting to the internet archive, "their" content, not the user's content on their site. The users disagreed and I think the export has restarted, but it definitely shows you what the new group of CEOs think of their communities.

I'm definitely sticking to using only federated social media going forward, even for marketing.

sternail,

I used Redact to schedule a daily deletion of my comments and posts. Hope it works. Also, I will report it.

Balssh,
Balssh avatar

They really want to fuck around GDPR? Are they really Musk level morons?

Varyag,
@Varyag@lemm.ee avatar

Motherfucker! I just checked my profile, and they DID restore the posts I edited+deleted with PowerDeleteSuite. Thankfully it's just the posts from the past week or so, I had deleted my entire 8 year history before that, and that stayed deleted. I'm assuming they monitored other API access calls past the days where the blackout started to restore those.

Brianala,
Brianala avatar

Same here. I’m a 12 year account on Reddit and I had been in the habit of deleting my history regularly due to an ex that likes to stalk my posts. Everything recent that I deleted this week is back but the stuff I deleted prior to that is still gone.

I just went back and edited it all again to state it’s been removed in protest in favor of moving to the fediverse.

HeartyBeast,
HeartyBeast avatar

Perhaps delete and replace the comment with text that explicitly claims copyright on the deleted message and denies Reddit a license to use the deleted content? It would be good to get a legal eagle willing to look at the Reddit user agreement and content licensing and see if there is a legally literate way of denying them use deleted content once it has been submitted.

Trebach,

If you're in the EU, submit a request to have it purged. If they refuse, that's a violation of the GDPR.

flybynightpotato,

Under the law, they also HAVE to respond to all requests within a month, regardless of whether they intend to comply. So it seems like it would be possible to completely overwhelm them with GDPR erasure requests and let them panic.

PabloDiscobar, (edited )
PabloDiscobar avatar

I deleted all my content but I did it over the span of a few days, to let the different caches around reddit to update with the new void, and my content is still deleted (so far).

I said it before and I say it again: if you have the patience to do so then make sure you overwrite your content with chatgpt generated content, as the future AI that will feed on your post HATE feeding on already AI generated stuff. It makes the AI diverge.

edit: Filling your previous content with random generated content also make it harder to restore because it is harder to spot, compared with the comments which are simply "deleted". Also, if all of it is really true, congratulation to reddit for demonstrating to everyone and specially the USA how useful the GDPR is for the citizen.

LChitman,
LChitman avatar

Would this actually be a GDPR breach? I was thinking about the right to erasure/to be forgotten earlier in relation to a post I saw about how your posts aren't deleted on other federated instances, if you delete them on your home server. But I figured it wasn't applicable because it's not personal data and I'm thinking the same about this Reddit issue. Can anyone set me straight?

abff08f4813c,
abff08f4813c avatar

Well, people have reported Twitter for failing to remove their tweets and places like the ICO are now actively investigating Twitter over this failure, see https://www.wired.co.uk/article/delete-twitter-dms-gdpr

Someone posted not too long ago that a person who was part of Twitter’s group over the GDPR - pre Musk - said the lawyers came to the conclusion that tweets were protected under the GDPR.

LChitman,
LChitman avatar

Thanks, that's a good point and sets a precedent. I had a reply in another thread with the definition of personal data from GDPR and it would seem to include social media posts:

'personal data' means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;

https://kbin.social/m/reddit@lemmy.ml/t/34167/Reddit-is-restoring-deleted-posts#entry-comment-141186

firebat,
firebat avatar

They are going full send on pissing everyone off at this point

asjmcguire,
asjmcguire avatar

Currently I only have 2 comments still visible which for some reason the Power Delete tool couldn't remove. I will check back in a week though if someone can remind me, and see if any of mine have magically reappeared.

HeartyBeast,
HeartyBeast avatar

!RemindMe .... oh, no.

Lasairiona,

I feel ya... Put in a feature request?

CynAq,
CynAq avatar

That's beyond fucked up.

But also very predictable.

I think it's safe to say this fiasco isn't going anywhere without a class action lawsuit or something.

TractorEnjoyer,
TractorEnjoyer avatar

There is EU and GDRP which reddit have to comply with.

Reddit CEO is a moron thinking they can avoid getting slapped with a fine.

db0,
@db0@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

There's certainly no chance this will backfire...

megane_kun,
@megane_kun@lemmy.world avatar

That's awful. I wonder if there's a way to automate deleting all of our posts and replies—and repeatedly run it on a schedule via a cron job or something, maybe once an hour or something. And let it run until their API becomes locked down.

Trebach,

And then replace it with a Selenium script afterwards.

megane_kun,
@megane_kun@lemmy.world avatar

If only I know enough about programming to do it.

Right now, I'm looking at an option that I can run via command line here which I can add to my cron job queue.

Kwik,

@megane_kun I was thinking something very similar. I'm sure there are keywords they're looking for too, like "third party apps" and "fuck /u/spez" which trigger the restore.

megane_kun,
@megane_kun@lemmy.world avatar

Probably, though from what I've seen in the linked thread, there's no such keywords present.

What I suspect is that Reddit admins saw a rise in deletions, and put two and two together and thought it's part of the protest. They're not wrong, but still a dick move.

mccord,
mccord avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    megane_kun,
    @megane_kun@lemmy.world avatar

    Thank you!! I was trying to remember Shreddit but all I managed to remember is that it needed to be installed in one's system.

    chri5,
    chri5 avatar

    That's not a bad idea actually. The Powerdelete script I used is based on Javascript and needs to be started manually in the browser window, I'll just run the script once a day. But maybe someone with more knowledge can come up with a more automated solution. They can't restore user accounts forever.

    Soyaro,

    erm... just put the triggering function in a for-loop, together with some conditions so it doesn't run all the time...?

    megane_kun,
    @megane_kun@lemmy.world avatar

    I am also going to use the power delete script too, but I was still looking for a way to archive my stuff before nuking them.

    I remember seeing some solutions that require an installation of a program which the user then runs on their machine.

    PS: @mccord Has the solution I was trying to remember. It's Shreddit.

    Brianala,
    Brianala avatar

    Earlier this week I deleted all of my comments except for some in a private sub. I just checked and all the posts I deleted are back 🤬

    roofuskit,
    roofuskit avatar

    Same

    pptouchi,

    Thats messed up! fuck spez!

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