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I am very DISAPPOINTED from LocalBitcoins.com because suddenly they blocked my account and requested:

1. A photograph of you ("Selfie") holding up your ID a long with a note containing your username and today's date.
2. A photograph of a recent utility bill with your name on it.
3. A photograph of your ID held up in front of your computer screen with the whole screen visible (all four corners) and this ticket page visible.

I am not comfortable providing this data and their request is breaking our EU law of data protection. It is shown on my profile page on LBC that I verified my account with an ID, Passport or Drivers license Verified 1 year, 9 months ago.

Anyone else? Appropriate solutions? Should I ask a lawyer to talk to them?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is our support ticket conversation:

'
cashintor March 20, 2018, 11:32 a.m. - 50 minutes ago
(Tue, 20 Mar 2018 10:32:29 +0000)
I have already read all your Terms of service and there isn't anything about providing Proof of address and ID selfie which is also breaking the EU citizens data protection law. I refuse to provide you with Proof of address neither an ID selfie. Reinstate my account as I did not brake ANY of your TERMS.

Quoted from your TOS:

'
Personal Data

For purposes of this Privacy Policy, Personal Data means any information relating to you as an identified or identifiable natural person (data subject); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to your identity.

Situations where you make, or may make, Personal Data available to us include without limitation:

Registration and/or verification for the services, such as by disclosing your information on the registration form, or if requested by us, as part of additional identity verification measures
Using the service, such as by creating advertisements, taking part in trades or posting on the forums
Creating a support request on our website, sending us email messages, or through other means of communications directed at us
Otherwise through the use of the services where Personal Data is required for use and/or participation
The Personal Data we collect and process may include:
Your name, email address and other contact details, as well as other personal details we may ask and you may provide us in the context of the services for purposes of identification, directing communications and use of the services please note that if you do not provide this information where requested, parts of the service may be unavailable to you
Details on your communications with us, including without limitation any messages, notifications, requests and similar sent to us by email, by using the service features or otherwise
Your account, transaction and service activity information, including without limitation your account settings as well as information on the advertisements and forum posts you have submitted and the trades you have engaged in, your payment details and any information on fees or charges related to your service activity along with any information necessary for their determination and review, and site usage information, such as such as how long you spend on the site and the pages that you visit, IP addresses, browser type, operating system, referring and exit pages, the dates and times of visits, and other site usage behavior
How We Use Your Information

We may use and process your information to:

Provide our services to you and to enable other users of our services to engage with you in trades, communications and other activities enabled by our services
Manage your account and your participation in the above-mentioned activities
Charge you for the use of the services, where applicable, and for debt recovery purposes
Respond to any issues or inquiries you may have regarding our services and provide you with information relevant to your use of the services, such as updates on scheduled downtime, new features or issues related to your use of or activity within the services
Contact you with offers or promotions based on how you use the services or inform you about products and services we think may interest you provided that we have obtained your consent for this where necessary
Protect and maintain our network and the services, and to prevent, identify and repair any technical problems or security issues
Verify your identity and to prevent, detect and investigate fraud, money laundering, criminal activity or other misuse of the services
Meet our legal obligations and protect important interests of ours or those of third parties such as other users of the services
Perform research and statistical analysis on the services, including observing how our customers use the services
Better allocate our resources and enhance and improve the services provided to you and other users
Legal Bases of Processing

In order for us to be able to process your Personal Data, we may rely on different legal bases, including:

Your separate consent (only when legally required or permitted). To the extent we rely on your consent as a legal basis for processing your Personal Data, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time;
The necessity to establish a contractual relationship with you and to perform our obligations under a contract, including without limitation the Terms of Service;
The necessity for us to comply with legal obligations;
The necessity to pursue our legitimate interests, including:
Ensuring the security of our networks, information and other assets
Protecting important interests of ours or those of third parties such as other users of the services
Contacting you to inform you about our products and services we think may interest you
Administering and generally conducting our business
Preventing, detecting and investigating fraud, money laundering, criminal activity or other misuse of the services
The necessity to protect the vital interests of any person
'

LocalBitcoins March 14, 2018, 6:10 p.m. - 5 days, 18 hours ago
(Wed, 14 Mar 2018 17:10:17 +0000)
Hi!

Please check our terms of service: https://localbitcoins.com/terms_of_service/

Thank you for understanding!

---
Best regards,
LocalBitcoins

In response to:

I am an EU citizen and there is a law in my country and the whole European Union that everyone has a RIGHT to REFUSE legitimating with an ID except to the POLICE or the Government. How can I be sure that my personal information will not be compromised? Or traded (with)? This is a serious concern. This request is too much. I have already verified my account. And this request from LocalBitcoins.com as a website seems contrary to the EUROPEAN UNION LAW and simply not serious.

Reinstate my account or I will pursue all the power of the law concerning this matter.

Thanks!

https://europa.eu/european-union/abouteuropa/legal_notices_en

Copyright notice
© European Union, 1995-2018

Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, save where otherwise stated.
Where prior permission must be obtained for the reproduction or use of textual and multimedia information (sound, images, software, etc.), such permission shall cancel the above-mentioned general permission and shall clearly indicate any restrictions on use.

Personal Data Protection
The European Union is committed to user privacy.
The policy on "protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions" is based on Regulation (EC) N° 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000.
This general policy covers the European Union's family of institutional Web Sites, within the eu domain.
Although you can browse through most of these Web Sites without giving any information about yourself, in some cases, personal information is required in order to provide the e-services you request.
Web Sites that require such information treat it according to the policy described in the Regulation mentioned above and provide information about the use of your data in their specific privacy policy statements.

In this respect:

For each specific e-service, a controller determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data and ensures conformity of the specific e-service with the privacy policy;
Within each Institution, a Data Protection Officer ensures that the provisions of the Regulation are applied and advises controllers on fulfilling their obligations (see art. 24 of the Regulation);
For all the Institutions, the European Data Protection Supervisor - PDF (234.10 KB) will act as an independent supervisory authority (see art. 41 to 45 of the Regulation).
The European Union's family of institutional Web Sites, within the eu domain, provides links to third party sites. Since we do not control them, we encourage you to review their privacy policies.

What is an e-service?
An e-service on EUROPA is a service or resource made available on the Internet in order to improve the communication between citizens and businesses on the one hand and the European Institutions on the other hand.

Three types of e-services are or will be offered by EUROPA:

Information services that provide citizens, media, business, administrations and other decision makers with easy and effective access to information, thus increasing transparency and understanding of the policies and activities of the EU;
Interactive communication services that allow better contacts with citizens, business, civil society and public actors thus facilitating policy consultations, and feedback mechanisms, in order to contribute to the shaping of policies, the activities and the services of the EU;
Transaction services that allow access to all basic forms of transactions with the EU, e.g. procurement, financial operations, recruitment, event enrolment, acquisition or purchase of documents etc.
Information contained in a specific privacy statement.
A specific privacy policy statement will contain the following information about the use of your data:

What information is collected, for what purpose and through which technical means the EU collects personal information exclusively to the extent necessary to fulfil a specific purpose. The information will not be re-used for an incompatible purpose;
To whom your information is disclosed. The EU will only disclose information to third parties if that is necessary for the fulfilment of the purpose(s) identified above and to the mentioned (categories of) recipients. The EU will not divulge your personal data for direct marketing purposes;
How you can access your information, verify its accuracy and, if necessary, correct it. As a data subject you also have the right to object to the processing of your personal data on legitimate compelling grounds except when it is collected in order to comply with a legal obligation, or is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, or is to be used for a purpose for which you have given your unambiguous consent;
How long your data is kept. The EU only keeps the data for the time necessary to fulfil the purpose of collection or further processing;
What are the security measures taken to safeguard your information against possible misuse or unauthorised access;
Whom to contact if you have queries or complaints.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/internet-telecoms/data-protection-privacy/index_en.htm

'Processing personal data

The person or body handling your data is called the 'data controller'. They have to respect EU rules about how they handle and store your personal data:

your data can only be collected for clearly defined legitimate purposes
the data requested from you must not be excessive
data which identifies you as an individual (i.e. your name or contact details) must not be kept any longer than needed
you must be able to correct, remove or block incorrect data about yourself
your data should be protected against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration and disclosure
If sensitive personal information is stolen, lost or illegally accessed known as a 'personal data breach' the provider must report it to the national data protection authority. The data controller must also inform you directly if there are any risks related to your personal data or privacy due to the breach.'

Thanks!
cashintor March 10, 2018, 11:02 p.m. - 1 week, 2 days ago
(Sat, 10 Mar 2018 22:02:51 +0000)
I am an EU citizen and there is a law in my country and the whole European Union that everyone has a RIGHT to REFUSE legitimating with an ID except to the POLICE or the Government. How can I be sure that my personal information will not be compromised? Or traded (with)? This is a serious concern. This request is too much. I have already verified my account. And this request from LocalBitcoins.com as a website seems contrary to the EUROPEAN UNION LAW and simply not serious.

Reinstate my account or I will pursue all the power of the law concerning this matter.

Thanks!

https://europa.eu/european-union/abouteuropa/legal_notices_en

Copyright notice
© European Union, 1995-2018

Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, save where otherwise stated.
Where prior permission must be obtained for the reproduction or use of textual and multimedia information (sound, images, software, etc.), such permission shall cancel the above-mentioned general permission and shall clearly indicate any restrictions on use.

Personal Data Protection
The European Union is committed to user privacy.
The policy on "protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions" is based on Regulation (EC) N° 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000.
This general policy covers the European Union's family of institutional Web Sites, within the eu domain.
Although you can browse through most of these Web Sites without giving any information about yourself, in some cases, personal information is required in order to provide the e-services you request.
Web Sites that require such information treat it according to the policy described in the Regulation mentioned above and provide information about the use of your data in their specific privacy policy statements.

In this respect:

For each specific e-service, a controller determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data and ensures conformity of the specific e-service with the privacy policy;
Within each Institution, a Data Protection Officer ensures that the provisions of the Regulation are applied and advises controllers on fulfilling their obligations (see art. 24 of the Regulation);
For all the Institutions, the European Data Protection Supervisor - PDF (234.10 KB) will act as an independent supervisory authority (see art. 41 to 45 of the Regulation).
The European Union's family of institutional Web Sites, within the eu domain, provides links to third party sites. Since we do not control them, we encourage you to review their privacy policies.

What is an e-service?
An e-service on EUROPA is a service or resource made available on the Internet in order to improve the communication between citizens and businesses on the one hand and the European Institutions on the other hand.

Three types of e-services are or will be offered by EUROPA:

Information services that provide citizens, media, business, administrations and other decision makers with easy and effective access to information, thus increasing transparency and understanding of the policies and activities of the EU;
Interactive communication services that allow better contacts with citizens, business, civil society and public actors thus facilitating policy consultations, and feedback mechanisms, in order to contribute to the shaping of policies, the activities and the services of the EU;
Transaction services that allow access to all basic forms of transactions with the EU, e.g. procurement, financial operations, recruitment, event enrolment, acquisition or purchase of documents etc.
Information contained in a specific privacy statement.
A specific privacy policy statement will contain the following information about the use of your data:

What information is collected, for what purpose and through which technical means the EU collects personal information exclusively to the extent necessary to fulfil a specific purpose. The information will not be re-used for an incompatible purpose;
To whom your information is disclosed. The EU will only disclose information to third parties if that is necessary for the fulfilment of the purpose(s) identified above and to the mentioned (categories of) recipients. The EU will not divulge your personal data for direct marketing purposes;
How you can access your information, verify its accuracy and, if necessary, correct it. As a data subject you also have the right to object to the processing of your personal data on legitimate compelling grounds except when it is collected in order to comply with a legal obligation, or is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, or is to be used for a purpose for which you have given your unambiguous consent;
How long your data is kept. The EU only keeps the data for the time necessary to fulfil the purpose of collection or further processing;
What are the security measures taken to safeguard your information against possible misuse or unauthorised access;
Whom to contact if you have queries or complaints.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/internet-telecoms/data-protection-privacy/index_en.htm

'Processing personal data

The person or body handling your data is called the 'data controller'. They have to respect EU rules about how they handle and store your personal data:

your data can only be collected for clearly defined legitimate purposes
the data requested from you must not be excessive
data which identifies you as an individual (i.e. your name or contact details) must not be kept any longer than needed
you must be able to correct, remove or block incorrect data about yourself
your data should be protected against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration and disclosure
If sensitive personal information is stolen, lost or illegally accessed known as a 'personal data breach' the provider must report it to the national data protection authority. The data controller must also inform you directly if there are any risks related to your personal data or privacy due to the breach.'

Thanks!

LocalBitcoins March 9, 2018, 8:12 a.m. - 1 week, 4 days ago
(Fri, 9 Mar 2018 07:12:09 +0000)
Hi Nikifor,

your account will not be activated if you do not comply with the verification request.

Thank you for understanding!

---
Best regards,
LocalBitcoins

In response to:

Hi I am a long - term 3 years + verified trader here and I am not comfortable uploading these automatically requested documents. Please reinstate my account soon!

Thank you!
cashintor March 6, 2018, 5:08 p.m. - 1 week, 6 days ago
(Tue, 6 Mar 2018 16:08:01 +0000)
Hi I am a long - term 3 years + verified trader here and I am not comfortable uploading these automatically requested documents. Please reinstate my account soon!

Thank you!
LocalBitcoins March 6, 2018, 2:21 p.m. - 1 week, 6 days ago
(Tue, 6 Mar 2018 13:21:19 +0000)
Hi

Our automated fraud/risk detection system has flagged your account as high risk. The flag can be caused by a number of factors. We dont specify what exactly caused the flag in order to allow us to remain proactive with regards to these risks.

We will require you to complete some additional ID verification steps.

1. A photograph of you ("Selfie") holding up your ID a long with a note containing your username and today's date.
2. A photograph of a recent utility bill with your name on it.
3. A photograph of your ID held up in front of your computer screen with the whole screen visible (all four corners) and this ticket page visible.

Once you have completed these steps - reply to this support ticket and attach the photographs you've taken.
'