After the May 13 ruling that Europeans have the “right to be forgotten” by Google, 12,000 European citizens already asked for link removal.
Google put up an online form on May 30 allowing Europeans to request links to be removed from search results. Though the form went up in the early hours, requests starting pouring in quickly and averaged up to 20 requests per minute at times.
A Google employee told Reuters that the ruling makes it hard for the search engine to balance a person’s “right to be forgotten and the public’s right to know.”
Twenty-eight officials from the European Union (EU) are meeting today to discuss implications of the ruling and how Google’s first step toward compliance will work from a practical standpoint.
Larry Page, chief executive officer of Google, told the Financial Times about his concerns that legislation could repress online communication through too much government restriction and make it more difficult for start-ups.
“We’re a big company and we can respond to these kind of concerns and spend money on them and deal with them, it’s not a problem for us,” Page said. “But as a whole, as we regulate the internet, I think we’re not going to see the kind of innovation we’ve seen.”
He also worried that this ruling could be used as a negative precedent for countries who “aren’t as forward and progressive as Europe to do bad things” and promote censorship.
The search engine intends to work with authorities and senior Google executives to figure out a long-term plan for handling the large number of expected requests for link removal.
Keeping up links that meet the EU criteria for removal may result in fines.
This ruling will not remove the information from the internet entirely. It will only remove the link from search results.
Google has not yet divulged when links will start being removed.
Please Leave A Comment
Related posts:
Europeans Have the ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ By Google
Google’s Next Big Search Term: ‘The Fountain of Youth’
Businesses Can Now Offer Virtual Tours through Google Maps
Google My Business Hopes to Help Connect Businesses and Customers
Microsoft vs. Google Patents Ruling: The ITC’s Growing Role in Business