Google suspends romance author's account for writing sexually explicit content

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Scope of the Suspension

  • Disagreement on what exactly was suspended:
    • Some think only sharing of specific Docs/Drive files was blocked.
    • Instagram screenshots show: first, sharing disabled; later, after an appeal, a popup saying the account/Docs were frozen pending review and files became inaccessible.
    • Overall status is unclear; several commenters flag the situation as ambiguous and evolving.

Google Policies and Legal Justifications

  • Google’s Docs/Drive policy forbids distributing sexually explicit material, with exceptions for educational/documentary/scientific/artistic use.
  • Some argue the romance/erotica should qualify as artistic and that this was likely an overbroad automated enforcement.
  • Others say the rule is common and reasonable, given:
    • Age-verification and “harmful to minors” laws in various jurisdictions.
    • The complexity of global compliance, including content that might depict minors.
  • Counterpoint: pure text erotica is not clearly illegal in many places; treating it like illegal content is a voluntary, moralistic choice by Google.

Dependence on Cloud Services and Backups

  • Strong consensus that relying on any single cloud provider as the sole copy of important work is risky.
  • Multiple anecdotes of accounts/workspaces being locked over content or moderation mistakes.
  • Recommended strategies:
    • 3‑2‑1 backups (multiple copies, media types, one off-site).
    • Local primary storage + encrypted cloud backups only.
    • Multiple providers to avoid single points of failure.

Alternatives and Self‑Hosting

  • Suggested tools: Notion, Quip, Dropbox, Nextcloud + OnlyOffice, CryptPad, Syncthing, NAS-based backups.
  • Mixed reports on Nextcloud: powerful but fragile/complex, especially on upgrades; Syncthing praised as simpler and “just works” for file sync.
  • Many endorse self‑hosting; others note complexity and that non‑technical users are unlikely to manage it well.

Censorship, Culture, and “Morality Police”

  • Widespread criticism of US‑centric prudishness: violence widely tolerated while consensual sex (even in private docs) is heavily policed.
  • Discussion of platforms’ incentives:
    • To avoid advertiser backlash and legal risk, they aggressively moderate sex, nudity, and certain keywords.
    • This drives euphemistic language (“unalive”, “seggs”) and expanding soft censorship.
  • Some call for regulation forcing platforms to:
    • Provide read‑only access and export options instead of hard account bans.
    • Preserve user data for a period even after ToS violations.