I recently discovered an interesting aspect of GitHub's data retention policy that pertains to repositories subjected to DMCA requests. Specifically, when a repository becomes the focus of a DMCA request and is taken down, not only is the primary repository deleted but also all its forks. This is a significant deviation from the standard deletion process where users can remove their repositories individually, but the forks remain unaffected, via the following sentence:

GitHub's own TOS wrote:

We will not delete Content that you have contributed to other Users' repositories or that other Users have forked.

Now, I find myself in a situation where I would like to explore avenues for initiating a DMCA-like content deletion for my repositories, including their forks. Although I'm not entirely sure if I'm addressing this concern in the correct forum, it seems like an appropriate topic for the GitHub community to discuss and potentially find solutions for.

To this end, I've contemplated three possible approaches:

A) Trying to Leverage a Family Member: At first, I considered involving a family member to issue a DMCA request on my behalf, claiming that the code in my repositories belonged to proprietary software, and I was illegally sharing the source code. However, I quickly realized the ethical and legal issues surrounding this approach, as it could potentially involve breaking federal law. Thus, I discarded this idea.

B) Sending a Personal DMCA Request: Another option was to file a DMCA request myself, providing full and honest details and asking GitHub to remove my old repositories. Nevertheless, there's a reasonable likelihood that GitHub would simply mark the request as invalid and proceed accordingly.

C) Attempting to Overwrite and Conceal Data: I also considered overwriting every file with null data, trying to hide previous revisions, and then deleting the repository. However, it's important to note that this approach would be futile as it wouldn't impact the forks associated with my repositories.

If anyone within the GitHub community possesses the knowledge and expertise to help navigate this situation and explore potential avenues for achieving DMCA-like content deletion for repositories and their forks, I would greatly appreciate your input and insights.

Feel free to share your thoughts, suggestions, or experiences on this matter. Let's work together to find a solution or gain a deeper understanding of GitHub's policies regarding DMCA requests and repository deletions.

Also please do tell me if I am posting in the wrong subforum. Questions about Scratch wouldn't fit as this isn't regarding Scratch's DMCA rules. Therefore I do think that the AT's are the best fit for this topic.

Why would you want to do this, though? There's not much of a difference between DMCA-like content removal and just plain content removal, other than that DMCA'ing a repository removes the source code and all of it's forks.

I don't think this is possible, by the way. Content/information that gets commited to source control is not subject to GDPR, at least according to some Googling I did, and you can't remove forks of repos that other people have made, unless those forks are subject to DMCA. You shouldn't push commit personal information or API keys that cannot be changed, because that stuff is probably compromised the moment you put it online.

Kind of a coincidence that this topic was made right after I found github.com/github/dmca

ajskateboarder wrote:

Is this for privacy reasons?

Yeah. I am aware of GDPR, however AFAIK it's only available to people who live in the EU and I don't live in the EU so that doesn't apply. + that would delete my ENTIRE account

DifferentDance8 wrote:

ajskateboarder wrote:

Is this for privacy reasons?

Yeah. I am aware of GDPR, however AFAIK it's only available to people who live in the EU and I don't live in the EU so that doesn't apply. + that would delete my ENTIRE account

I don't really know if you can do anything. See my edited post

Never mind, it actually depends. GitHub's Private Information Removal Policy lets you remove repos and forks if it happens to include sensitive documentation, access credentials, or personal information

ajskateboarder wrote:

You shouldn't push commit personal information or API keys that cannot be changed, because that stuff is probably compromised the moment you put it online.

…I didn't do any of those by the way.

DifferentDance8 wrote:

ajskateboarder wrote:

You shouldn't push commit personal information or API keys that cannot be changed, because that stuff is probably compromised the moment you put it online.

…I didn't do any of those by the way.

Then what did you do, if anything?

I'm not sure if this is a good fit for the forums. Maybe ask on a GitHub support page or similar?

If the fork is of a repository without an open source liscense, you can send a DMCA request. Include all of the forks in one request.
Source: this guy did it

If you surrender to the jurisdiction of Great Mojaveland, I can pass an executive order making your code protected from viewing or modification.
Perform a GDPR request.

PPPDUD wrote:

If you surrender to the jurisdiction of Great Mojaveland, I can pass an executive order making your code protected from viewing or modification.
Perform a GDPR request.

gdpr request deletes your whole profile

They would be doing it against other peoples forks