I'm trying to delete my posts from a website that I joined a few days ago There wasn't any option to delete my posts so I reported my posts and wrote in the description for someone to take them down a moderator on the site got back to me and said: ''I'm sorry but we do not delete posts on request. I can offer moving the threads to Members Only.'' so I said: ''can I delete anything myself and if so how'' so they said: ''Only in the 24 hours after publication, if no one has left a response to your post. Otherwise, all you write on the Internet belongs to the Internet.'' I'm wondering if this is the case or if I have any legal rights to take them down and if so how I can go about it
You may need to consult with a real-world lawyer on this one. Things get complicated because it's unlikely that the company that owns the site, the hosting of the site, and you are all in the same country. Ultimately there's the lesson that gets drummed into kids You signed up to the website, you accepted their TOS, you made the posts without coercion. You need to screenshot any official info on the site that led you to believe you could delete your posts, or your account at any time - but it sounds like you just wished you could, and that's not enough. Without knowing the site, it's possible that the owner might be cowed by a sternly worded letter from your lawyer but you may need to take them to court and plead unreasonable harm from the posts staying online - you'd need to prove that harm in some quantifiable way: loss of business? last year's balance sheet compared to this years... On the other hand, the owner might just say "meh, bring it on" and let you waste a significant amount of money on an unwinnable court case. Only you know the value of having those posts removed.
@sarahk do you know anything about the EU "Right to be Forgotten" Internet laws that I believe were passed a few years ago? Does that change anything for EU citizens?
No idea as my sites don't target Europe but between people screenshotting content, archive.org, and the scrapers I'd still recommend that people are circumspect about what they put online. I "overshare" but I do so knowing that I may lose the ability to delete my content and my words can be used against me. I've been in the unfortunate position of reporting online threats to the Police and have seen firsthand how toothless the law is against people in other countries. I'm old, all my reckless behaviour occurred before digital cameras were a thing. The kids get it, they know, they think first, they swamp the internet with more positive photos than negative. I'm guessing that the OP is either middle-aged or from a country where access to the internet is limited and is only now learning what our 20 somethings have known all their lives.
According to your profile you are only 14 years old. The only legal rights you have, belong to your mother. Just be content that she allows you to live in her basement.
@IIdentifyAsAnAlien Get the post moved to the "member's only" area at least. That area is normally not accessible by search engines because it requires people to login to read whatever is inside that area. At least people will not be able to use google etc to find whatever you wrote. They can still find it using the website's own search engine, and read it if they are logged in.
If you still have editing abilities to the posts, just erase what you submitted and replace with "ooops!"