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Google's automated moderation system blocked hundreds of legitimate websites on the Blogger platform, falsely accusing their owners of distributing malware. Some blogs were not simply closed to visitors, but completely removed from the platform.
According to Bleeping Computer , the mass blocking began on August 4, 2026. The owners of the affected sites claim their sites did not contain any malicious scripts or other dangerous content, but the system reported a violation of Blogger's policies regarding the hosting of "malware and similar harmful content." As a result, numerous administrators sought help on Google's official forums . According to one affected user, the blocking is triggered automatically after updating the homepage or changing the blog template. Other users report experiencing different system behavior: after filing an appeal, their sites were restored, only to be later removed again. On the forums, one Blogger community expert suggested that the incident could have been caused by an error: "Such a huge number of messages about blogs blocked for the same reason indicates misclassification by automated systems. False positives do happen, but not on this scale." The control panel of the affected blogs displays a large red lock and a blocking warning. The message states that the resource has been removed for violating platform rules, and the owner can request a reconsideration. The automatic notification also warns that Google may permanently delete the blog within three months unless the owner appeals. Furthermore, until the possible unblocking occurs, the administrator will be denied access to the control panel sections used to edit posts, change settings, themes, and other site elements. Google representatives told the publication that they are already aware of the issue and are working on a fix:
[td]"We're aware of a bug that caused some sites hosted on the Blogger platform to be incorrectly flagged as malicious. We're already working on a fix and are committed to resolving this issue as quickly as possible."[/td]Journalists note that the exact scale of the incident is still unknown. Google has never disclosed the total number of sites running on the Blogger platform, but third-party analysts estimate the number to be approximately 200,000.
According to Bleeping Computer , the mass blocking began on August 4, 2026. The owners of the affected sites claim their sites did not contain any malicious scripts or other dangerous content, but the system reported a violation of Blogger's policies regarding the hosting of "malware and similar harmful content." As a result, numerous administrators sought help on Google's official forums . According to one affected user, the blocking is triggered automatically after updating the homepage or changing the blog template. Other users report experiencing different system behavior: after filing an appeal, their sites were restored, only to be later removed again. On the forums, one Blogger community expert suggested that the incident could have been caused by an error: "Such a huge number of messages about blogs blocked for the same reason indicates misclassification by automated systems. False positives do happen, but not on this scale." The control panel of the affected blogs displays a large red lock and a blocking warning. The message states that the resource has been removed for violating platform rules, and the owner can request a reconsideration. The automatic notification also warns that Google may permanently delete the blog within three months unless the owner appeals. Furthermore, until the possible unblocking occurs, the administrator will be denied access to the control panel sections used to edit posts, change settings, themes, and other site elements. Google representatives told the publication that they are already aware of the issue and are working on a fix: