As a Google Workspace customer, you agree to follow Google’s acceptable use policy. If you violate any of the guidelines outlined, you could face serious action that may result in loss of account access and data.
Overview of Google’s Acceptable Use Policy
Below is an overview of Google’s Workspace and Cloud Identity Acceptable Use Policy. This breaks down the main aspects of the policy that are most likely to affect the average user, however we would still urge you to check the full policy to ensure that you abide by Google’s rules.
You agree not to use Google Workspace services:
- to send unsolicited bulk commercial emails (this is considered to be around 5,000 emails in one day but we’d recommend using email campaign software if you are sending to as low as 50 recipients or more);
- to violate, or encourage the violation of, the legal rights of others;
- to engage in, promote or encourage illegal activity;
- to send Non-consensual Explicit Imagery (NCEI), violate intellectual property rights, phish or create a pyramid scheme;
- to distribute viruses, worms, Trojan horses, corrupted files or hoaxes;
- to grant multiple individuals access to an individual End User Account other than via the delegation features provided within the Services (in other words, everyone in your organisation must have their own account);
- to create End User Accounts assigned to business functions rather than to human beings for the purpose of sharing files within or outside the domain (for example, a sales@ email address that is only used to send sales or marketing emails and discounts);
- to resell End User Accounts, or parts thereof, as added into a commercial product offered to third parties;
- to record audio or video communications without consent;
Violations
If you violate any of the terms of service, Google may suspend or terminate your account. If Google suspects extreme activity, your account may be suspended immediately and permanently without prior warning. This would result in a loss of data, including all Google drive files and Gmail access.
Case Study
Unfortunately, we have witnessed the consequences of violation of Google’s policy and have seen a business lose all access to their Workspace and Gmail accounts. The user in question had over 100 users on their account and was unable to pinpoint the source of the violation.
As their Google Workspace reseller, we communicated with Google on their behalf to reach a resolution, which took many weeks of emails with Google support (during which access to Workspace was blocked, although billing was also suspended so no further costs were incurred). Regrettably, this case did not result in a satisfactory outcome – ultimately, after a lengthy investigation Google decided to permanently delete the account. The business in question was also blocked from creating a new replacement account.
This demonstrates that no matter how small or large your business, if you breach Google’s policies, you will experience the repercussions. Therefore, it is better to verify now that you are observing the rules, rather than encountering the consequences later.
Google Resellers
Ballyhoo are certified Google Cloud Partners and Google Resellers, meaning we can sell and help support Google Workspace for our clients. If you need help with your organisation’s Google Workspace, please contact us now.
