According to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), who issued the ruling, when searching for an individual’s name, previously removed results should be completely erased from the Internet’s history, which makes these news stories subject to removal as well. It seems as though the ICO made the order after Google refused to remove the links after being asked to by the individual in question, which is when the ICO stepped in.
Of course, this presents something of a slippery slope for not only Google, but the ICO and other watchdog groups as well – while the “right to be forgotten” mandate was originally intended to clear the web’s cache of old and irrelevant stories, it’s quickly becoming an excuse for what some consider significant censorship. The order was issued this week by UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office, which has instructed Google to erase nine links to current news stories about earlier reports as they itself were removed from search listings under the “right to be forgotten” mandate. Google responded to the individual’s request in compliance with EU regulations. However, those removals sparked media stories about Google having to remove those links – stories which contained the individual’s name and details of the crime he had committed. “It is wrong of them to now refuse to remove newer links that reveal the same details and have the same negative impact”.
Europe’s “right to be forgotten” movement has reared its head to bite Google yet again. “That means they shouldn’t include personal information that is no longer relevant”. The agency said that while it recognized the journalistic content of the decisions to delist search results may be newsworthy and in the public interest, that did not justify including links to information about an individual’s crime, since it would have an unwarranted and negative impact on that person’s privacy.
“Let’s be clear. We understand that links being removed as a result of this court ruling is something that newspapers want to write about”.
The commission has given Google a five-week grace period, starting on August 18, to do away with the links, or the company shall face penalties and a fine, BBC reported.
The ICO summed up its view by claiming “That [public] interest can be adequately and properly met without a search made on the basis of the complainant’s name”.
Still, the silver lining here, at least from Google’s perspective, is that no European government can force Google to alter results on its American search engine.