Policy violations FAQ

This page has answers to frequently asked questions about Google Cloud policy violations.

Warning and suspension

Why did my Google Cloud project receive a warning?

To help create a trustworthy and positive environment on Google Cloud, we use algorithms to identify projects that appear to display malicious or spammy behavior, and for projects violating the Google Cloud Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy. You'll receive a warning when we flag your project as meeting any of the problem criteria.

My project has received a warning or a suspension. What should I do now?

Google Cloud compliance will send you an email telling you why your project is being warned. The email will also tell you how you can fix the issue. Please fix the issue and respond to the warning by submitting an appeal from the Appeals page on the Google Cloud Console.

If you do not respond to the warning in a timely manner your project may be suspended in accordance with the Terms of Service. Please review the Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy to ensure that your project does not violate our policies.

You can access the Appeals page by clicking the link in the email you received. To access the page, you must be signed in as the project owner.

If you see an error message telling you that you don't have sufficient permission to access the page, check to make sure you're logged in as the project owner. If that doesn't work, it might be because you're logged into multiple accounts. Try logging out of all other accounts and then click the link in the email.

You can also navigate to the Appeals page by going to the dashboard on the Cloud Console.

Go to the Cloud Console dashboard.
From the project list, select the project that you received the warning about. You should see a warning at the top of the dashboard.
In the console, click
Let us know how you're using the project and what steps you've taken to fix the issue that was described in the email.

A team member will review your appeal and, in most cases, get back to you within two business days.

I did not receive a warning or suspension email from Google but the Google Cloud Console shows that my project has been warned or suspended.

When your project is flagged, we send an email to the project owner at the email address that was used to create the project. You should check this email account regularly to ensure that you receive these notifications. If you do not respond to these notifications in a timely manner, your project could be suspended in accordance with the Terms of Service.

If the Acceptable Use Policy or Terms of Service violation creates an emergency security issue, your project might be suspended without any advance warning.

Compromise

I received a warning for violating Google Cloud policies but I'm not doing anything wrong.

Please review the Google Cloud Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy to ensure that your project is not violating any policies.

Sometimes, your project might be compromised by vulnerabilities in third party software you have installed. For more information on security best practices, see the Securing instances section of the Cloud Security FAQ. To access security tools to protect your projects, use the Security Command Center.

In extremely rare instances, our algorithms might flag your project's intentional behavior as malicious. In such cases, you can appeal as described above in My project has received a warning. What should I do now? and provide a business justification. A member of our team will review your appeal and, in most cases, get back to you within two business days.

How do I fix leaked credentials? What else do I need to do after I delete the compromised credentials?

To help provide you with the best security technology, we issue alerts for detected leaked credentials. If you’ve received this warning, follow the steps outlined in Handling Compromised Google Cloud Credentials to best secure your data.

What are the best practices for ensuring that my projects are not taken down for abusive activity?

Here are some of the best practices for appealing a warning or avoiding a suspension:

Monitor the relevant email address (the project owner email address) regularly so that you know as soon as your project is warned.
Make sure that emails from google-cloud-compliance@google.com do not go to the spam folder.
Fix the issue as soon as possible. Your email will tell you how you can fix the issue. You have a limited time window to fix the issue as described in the email.
Ensure that your project does not violate the Google Cloud Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy.
Respond to the notification as described above in My project has received a warning. What should I do now?. (Please do not respond to the email.) Let us know the steps you've taken to fix the issue. Explain clearly and concisely. Our team needs to know the steps you took to fix the issue, but we don't need to know the exact code you used.

Cryptomining

Why was my project flagged for cryptocurrency mining?

You may not use the Free Trial Services to engage in mining cryptocurrency. You must obtain Google's prior written approval before you can engage in any cryptocurrency mining activities. Blockchain activities that are not resource-intensive, such as Proof of Stake (PoS), do not require verification.

Malware and phishing

Why is my project being flagged for malware or unwanted software?

To help create a trustworthy and positive environment on Google Cloud, we use algorithms to identify projects that host malware or unwanted software. You'll receive a warning if we flag your project as meeting this criteria. To learn more about how Google handles malware and unwanted software, see Malware and unwanted software in the Google Search Console documentation.

I have nothing related to phishing on my project. What can I do?

Phishing or deceptive social engineering content can be included using resources embedded on your web page. Additionally, hackers may take control of a site and use it to host deceptive content. To fix the issue, please ensure that no pages on your site contain deceptive content.

If you believe that your site has been incorrectly flagged for phishing, you can request a review at Report Incorrect Phishing Warning. Meanwhile, please respond to the warning on your cloud project by submitting an appeal indicating the same.

Data access and deletion

How do I delete a project? Can someone at Google delete my project for me?

We cannot delete your project for you. For instructions on deleting your own projects, see Shutting Down (Deleting) Projects.

How can I access or download my data after my resources are restricted or suspended?

To regain access to your data, you need to appeal the suspension as described earlier in My project has received a warning. What should I do now? A team member will review your appeal and, in most cases, get back to you within two business days.

Third-party Content Enforcement

What should I do to ensure that third-party content hosted on my platform complies with the Google Cloud Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)?

If your primary business is to host third-party content or services or facilitate the sale of goods and services between third parties, you must take reasonable steps to enforce compliance with the Google Cloud Acceptable Use Policy, including:

Publishing policies defining what content is prohibited on your platform
Maintaining a publicly accessible method (e.g., webform or email alias) of receiving notices of illegal or abusive content (in addition to a monitored communications channel for Google); and
Promptly reviewing and addressing any such notices, and removing content where appropriate.

Support

How can I get help from Google?

If you need help with an issue, first check your Google Cloud logs and troubleshoot using the diagnostic tools that are part of Google Cloud (such as Security Command Center).

If you cannot resolve the issue on your own, you can reach out to the Google Cloud Community Forum. Also, if you have a Google Cloud Support package, you can file a ticket through the Support Center.

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