right to be forgotten
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EU's 'right to be forgotten' now extends to inaccurate claims about people
An EU court has ordered companies like Google to pull search results about people when they're proven to be 'inaccurate,'
Google rejects France's demand for a global 'right to be forgotten'
When French regulator CNIL told Google it must apply "right to be forgotten" requests globally last month, it gave the company 15 days to comply or face further action. That deadline came and went without a whisper from the search giant, but it's taken another 34 days for it to muster a reply. In a blog post, Peter Fleischer, Global Privacy Counsel at Google, called CNIL's order "disproportionate and unnecessary," arguing that if it had obeyed its demand, France would essentially set the standard for internet regulation.
France tells Google: expand 'right to be forgotten' globally, or else
It's been a tough year for Google, especially after it was told it must delist search results as part of the so-called "right to be forgotten" ruling. In that time, the company has vetted each individual request, throwing more than half of them out, but also getting some of its decisions wrong. CNIL, the French privacy watchdog, also takes exception with Google's judgement, but is more worried that when it does carry out a delisting, links are only removed from Google results in Europe. The regulator today announced it's giving the search giant 15 days to make them apply globally or face sanctions.
Google got some 'right to be forgotten' decisions wrong, says UK
It's been almost a year since the European Union ruled in favour of the "right to be forgotten," giving anyone permission to request that specific links be removed from Google's search results. Since then, the company has dealt with over 250,000 applications from the public (and rejected 59 percent of them). Now, the BBC reports that the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is talking to Google about 48 cases it believes were ruled incorrectly. It's a small number, but one that highlights the difficulties that Google faces with interpreting the EU's ruling and judging individual requests.
Musician tries to use EU right to be forgotten to hide a bad review
The EU believes that its "right to be forgotten" is about removing outdated or irrelevant information, rather than letting people photoshop their backstories. Unfortunately, the latest in a long line of people to miss that memo is musician Dejan Lazic, who tried to using the ruling to erase a bad review. The Croatian pianist requested that the Washington Post nix a 2010 piece that described his playing as "cartoon-like," which he described as "defamatory, mean-spirited, opinionated, one-sided, offensive [and] simply irrelevant for the arts" - which also just happened to be on the front page of Google when you searched for his name. Naturally, upon receiving the request, the newspaper reported upon it, providing plenty of fresh attention towards the not-particularly-scathing review. For his part, Lazic believes that he has a right to control his own image, and that reviewer Anna Midgette is holding a grudge against certain acts who are singled out for harsh judgment. Bet the EU sometimes wishes that it could just try and forget this whole thing ever started.
Google says it's struggling to cope after being asked to censor 250,000 EU webpages
Google's top lawyer has spoken out to try to explain the mess that happened last week, when the search giant censored, and then partially reinstated, links to a number of important news articles. Senior VP and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond now admits that some of the initial censorship decisions were "incorrect," specifically in the case of some Guardian newspaper articles that were delisted for a short time. But, as you'd probably expect, he also gives Google's side of the story.
Google forced to 'forget' history of Merrill Lynch CEO's incompetence (update)
Welcome to the happy Google search page. Where links to historical articles can be deleted at the request of cowards people with fragile reputations. Where the former boss of Merrill Lynch, Stan O'Neal, is a fresh, dynamic and highly employable banker, rather than a disgraced executive who contributed to the sub-prime lending crisis of 2007. Where truth-telling journalists like Robert Peston wake up to find that their articles have been cast into oblivion within the EU, thanks to a blanket ruling by a bunch of clueless lawyers the European Court of Justice. Where facts and opinions no longer count for anything if someone, somewhere doesn't like them. (A list of other Google search terms that have so far been affected by the new "right to be forgotten" can be found here -- although in none of the cases do we have any information about who objected to them, or why.) Update: Reuters and The Guardian are reporting that some links have been restored (not the one to the story about Stan O'Neal), although, as Danny Sullivan points out on Twitter, they may not have been pulled at all. The European Commission has also distanced itself from Google's takedown action, saying that the EU's ruling shouldn't allow people to "photoshop their lives."
Google starts removing 'forgotten' search results
It was only a matter of time until it happened, but Google has now started removing search results from its listings as part of the European Commission's "Right to be forgotten" ruling. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company started implementing the blocks earlier today, weeks after it first started allowing individuals to request that the search giant remove listings that turned up against searches for their own names. Google says it has begun notifying successful applicants that their requests have been accepted.
What you need to know about the 'right to be forgotten' on Google
Who decides your rights to privacy and freedom of speech on the internet? Earlier this month, a landmark ruling by Europe's biggest court left Google trying to find an answer to that unanswerable question. The case, which centers on the so-called "right to be forgotten," allows European users to actively ask providers to remove personal information that's become "outdated" or "irrelevant." Even if Google (or other search engines) has indexed it in a fair and legal way, it's obligated to comply with the ruling. It's opened a debate over whether a company known for its complex search algorithms should be given the duty of making judgement calls over what should and should not remain online for the world to see. Google co-founder Sergey Brin wishes he could "just forget the ruling," but unfortunately for him, Google, and you, the issue is real. And it's going to impact the way we search the web forever.
Do we have the right to be 'forgotten' on Google? Spain asks ECJ to investigate
Google has already tasted European hot water over its revised privacy policy, and soon the European Court of Justice (ECJ) may expand its remit to consider other related issues too. Spanish judges are asking the top court to consider complaints from 100 Spaniards who wish to have their names removed from news articles and websites. Among the complainants are a plastic surgeon who wants to delete archived references to a botched operation, and a man who appears on the Google News aggregator for alleged non-payment of social security. Google itself told Reuters that it supports the "right to be forgotten," but only if it's applied to search engines "in a way that protects both the right to privacy and the right to free expression." If only life was as simple as Pay N' Spray.
