> What Google is doing by refusing to publish the archive or even share it with parties like the Internet Archive is completely unjustifiable and anathema to everything they once stood for.
Couldn't a copyright claim (or something under the GDPR or UK's DPA) be used to regain access to those though?
Just because something is published to a public forum doesn't mean you relinquish your rights.
Copyright is a legal mechanism for restricting others from making copies, not for demanding they make copies for you. Off hand I'm unaware of any general legal mechanism to accomplish that outside of a contract or promise.
That’s why I suggested the DPA which does allow for rightsholders to request copies of data pertinent to themselves - I’d argue that usenet postings would fall under that scope.
Couldn't a copyright claim (or something under the GDPR or UK's DPA) be used to regain access to those though?
Just because something is published to a public forum doesn't mean you relinquish your rights.