Right to de-register from an on-line forum

[f7ancis]

Hello
I would like to know if there is any law governing the registration on internet forums. I have registered on one (and now on this one) and have discovered that there is no way I can then de-register and have my details removed from the database. I wondered if this is covered by the data-protection act in any way as many online forums are not run by Registered Data Users.

Do I have any recourse under UK law to have my membership details removed?

If so do I also have any recourse to have my posts removed ?

Many thanks, in anticipation

[EXC]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

Hello

Do I have any recourse under UK law to have my membership details removed?

If so do I also have any recourse to have my posts removed ?

Have you looked at the forum's terms of usage?

[f7ancis]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

Have you looked at the forum's terms of usage?

Yes. There is nothing in their T&C that covers this. They neither tell you that they will retain the right to your personal data nor that you have no option to remove yourself.


Incidentally this forum is exactly the same, once you register you cannot de-register except by request to forum admin.

So question to this forum admin, how can I de-register from legalbeagles.info and have my details removed from your database?


I am much more interested in the law rather than the terms of usage that the forum owner may have chosen.

I am wondering if I have the legal right to have my details removed from their database. I understand that data protection act gives data users registered with the data protection registrar the right to keep personal data under certain conditions and I have no right to require their deletion but what about an organisation (internet forum operator) who is not registered under that act?

My question is

is there any law that gives me a legal right to have my details removed from their database. If so how can it be accessed/implemented?

[EXC]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

My question is

is there any law that gives me a legal right to have my details removed from their database. If so how can it be accessed/implemented?

I don't know but I suspect that the forum's terms would determine, at least to some extent, what rights you have in law.

Hold on, I'll ask someone to take a look.

[Amethyst]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

So question to this forum admin, how can I de-register from legalbeagles.info and have my details removed from your database?

Send me a PM and I'll do it for you, not a problem. Your posts will remain and will be attributed to Guest. Presumably that's not what you want and it's a theoretical question with regards LegalBeagles.

On the legalities side of things, I think the first question to answer is what details do the forum actually hold about you?

I know here we only hold the data you enter at registration and IP address used for registration and posting. Thus only your email address and IP attributed to your username.

You can amend your email address yourself, it's up to you what you enter in the date of birth fields, the IP addresses are stored for security and are only attributed to the username you have given, which shouldn't be identifiable to you as an individual anyway (unless you used your real name).

‘Personal data’ is defined in Article 2 of the Directive by reference to whether information relates to an identified or identifiable individual.

[Sparkie1723]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

In my uneducated opinion you would have the right to have your details to be removed from the data base of a forum but no right to have any posts removed from any forum as they would be classed as being in the public domain...........
Sparkie
but
As you have supplied your data willingly .you also have to take into consideration the six year time scale for holding data.
REMEMEMBER I AN NOT A LEGAL PERSON AND THIS IS ONLY MY PERSONAL OPINION

[Amethyst]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

Uploaded doc which may help you determine what is data defined under the DPA.

[Wombats]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

A really interesting thread. Your username is just that, a user name, NOT your name. Thus right to privacy etc... is not applicable to my understanding UNLESS you can prove somehow that your username has become synonymous with your real name.

The circumstances in which this could happen would be rare, but probably not unheard of. The main thing, in my opinion, is to stick rigidly to the very sensible mantra I discovered too late ......

If you don't want your information or details on the internet, don't put them on there in the first place.

Funnily, as I read this post, I'm simultaneously reading this month's Webuser magazine which tells you how to retrieve all content about someone and circumnavigate the 'Right to Privacy' laws implemented now in the UK. UK users account for 10% of all requests to Google to remove content following France and Germany.

Also interestingly, the UK is now ranked alongside China, North Korea and Iran as one of the "Enemies of the internet." This is justified because our web access is now more monitored and censored than anywhere else in Europe (Source: WebUser Issue 356).

[f7ancis]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

Send me a PM and I'll do it for you, not a problem. Your posts will remain and will be attributed to Guest. Presumably that's not what you want and it's a theoretical question with regards LegalBeagles.

Yes in respect of this forum my question to site admin is theoretical.
But thanks for the reassurance.

[f7ancis]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

Thanks for replies so far.
It seems that an email address IS personal data. Particularly if that email address is a persons business or main one.
But a forum owner who is not registered as a data-user under DPA can surely only store that information as long as the person to whom it relates consents? And that would be irrespective of terms and conditions being silent on the matter?

[Tools]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

I think it may also depend on how you request that data to be removed, for instance, a user were to ask a forum such as LegalBeagles in a respectful manner outlining what and why you would like removing then we would be more than co-operative. If the same user went in guns blazing making impolite demands then it may be a different story. It also depends on the owners of the forum in question, some are more amenable than others. Was there a specific forum you had in mind or a particular reason?

[Wombats]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

Indeed Tools. Recently I approached two forums to remove posts, both in a similar, polite manner. My requests were processed with no problems whatsoever. Webmasters tend to be as helpful as possible.

Of course, there is also the issue of where the website is based. If based outside the UK, under what jurisdiction do posts made fall? If, say, I posted on a forum hosted in France, would my rights be governed by French law (even if there was a .co.uk suffix possibly)?

It is a very interesting area. Certainly the sayings, "Manners cost nothing" and "Manners maketh man" seem to go a long way in nearly all areas of life, this being no exception.

[Amethyst]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

Unless you are already banned you should be able to amend your email address yourself, and you can always set up a temporary anonymous email address just to receive the confirmation email.

[Kati]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

and even if you were banned, couldn't you email the site owners asking (nicely) that they remove things?

[Wombats]

Re: Right to de-register from an on-line forum

Unless you are already banned you should be able to amend your email address yourself, and you can always set up a temporary anonymous email address just to receive the confirmation email.

You could also, of course, use a proxy server if you wanted, thus retaining close to total anonymity. There is a very interesting article published by the ICO about when IP addresses constitute data.

A normal IP address does not, in itself, constitute data as it cannot be linked to a person. Where the IP address is used for personal profiling and thus there is an attempt to link it to a specific person, it is then classified as personal data for the purposes of the DPA.