Access Denied: Cannot Query `fh-bigquery:reddit_comments` Dataset from Google BigQuery

[uyeongkim]

Hello,

I’m trying to query the public dataset fh-bigquery:reddit_comments but I’m getting an Access Denied error.
I've followed the instructions provided and tried running the query both via the Google Cloud Console and the bq command-line tool, but the issue persists.

Here’s the exact script provided by the author that I used:

TABLE=reddit

# For all data up to 2019.
TABLE_REGEX="^201[5678]_[01][0-9]$"

QUERY="SELECT * \
  FROM TABLE_QUERY(\
  [fh-bigquery:reddit_comments], \
  \"REGEXP_MATCH(table_id, '${TABLE_REGEX?}')\" )"

# Run the query.
echo "${QUERY?}" | bq query \
  --n 0 \
  --batch --allow_large_results \
  --destination_table ${DATASET?}.${TABLE?} \
  --use_legacy_sql=true

I also tried adapting the query to Standard SQL and running it directly in the Google Cloud Console, but I encountered the same Access Denied error.
Here’s the query I used:

SELECT * 
FROM `fh-bigquery.reddit_comments.INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES` 
WHERE REGEXP_CONTAINS(table_id, r'^201[5678]_[01][0-9]$')

The error message I received is:

Access Denied: Table fh-bigquery:reddit_comments.INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES: User does not have permission to query table fh-bigquery:reddit_comments.INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES.

I also tried running your example script, but it resulted in the same error.

---

What I've Tried:

• Running the author's provided script via the bq command-line tool.
• Querying the dataset directly in the Google Cloud Console.
• Ensuring my Google Cloud account is verified and has BigQuery access.

---

Expected Behavior:

I should be able to query the fh-bigquery:reddit_comments dataset without access issues, as it is advertised as a public dataset

Actual Behavior:

Received an Access Denied error when trying to query the dataset, both through the provided script and directly in the Google Cloud Console.

---

Additional Context:

Google BigQuery Version: Standard SQL
Command-line Tool: bq
Cloud Account: Verified Google Cloud account
If there are additional permissions required or any setup steps I’m missing, please let me know.

Thank you for your assistance!

[eeyuhao]

I encountered the same error that disallowed me to access the Reddit dataset.

[mavex857]

I face the same issue!