EU court backs 'right to be forgotten' in Google case

[dead0man]

BBC link

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I agree with Google, this is unworkable, will no doubt be abused (mostly by the wealthy) and just seems silly to this American.  So if somebody takes a picture of you doing something stupid, you can ask the court to have Google remove the picture from their searches, because it would be illegal to ask the person that took the picture to remove it....yeah, makes no sense.


(curious to see who and how this is defended)

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I don't trust Google with my personal online data any more than I trust the government with it.

[angus]

Censorship isn't just for the Chinese, apparently.  This Spanish guy should be careful, because he's probably going to end up with far more than he bargained for.  Bad precedent, imho.

[dead0man]

None of our Euros have an opinion on this?  Perhaps you're appropriately embarrassed?

[Middle-aged Europe]

None of our Euros have an opinion on this?  Perhaps you're appropriately embarrassed?

I wholeheartedly endorse the court's decision as a huge victory in the fight for the protection of data privacy.

[ingemann]

None of our Euros have an opinion on this?  Perhaps you're appropriately embarrassed?

You know I find your Stockholm Syndrome toward BB fascinating.

As for this case it's not a big deal. You more or less have to sue search engines for them to remove these information, and there they major difference between USA and most of the rest of the World in. Outside USA it's a major investment to sue someone, the compensation when you sue are smaller, so it's very rare to see a lawyer willing to sue against getting part of the compensation, so this is expensive for the plaintiff, so this are unlikely to be very expensive for Search Engines.

[Lief 🗽]

Wait, don't you libertarian types support privacy rights?

[Franzl]

None of our Euros have an opinion on this?  Perhaps you're appropriately embarrassed?

Embarrassment would be a peculiar reaction.

[Deus Naturae]

None of our Euros have an opinion on this?  Perhaps you're appropriately embarrassed?

Embarrassment would be a peculiar reaction.

Really? You aren't embarrassed about the fact that your government has made it illegal for search engines to display certain forms of information?

[Deus Naturae]

I don't trust Google with my personal online data any more than I trust the government with it.

Google doesn't own any personal data (well, it may keep track of your search history, but that has nothing to do with this case). It just displays links to websites. I doubt you'd support this decision if the EU court had ruled that the Socialist Worker was full of "outdated" information and couldn't be linked to by Google.

[PiMp DaDdy FitzGerald]

None of our Euros have an opinion on this?  Perhaps you're appropriately embarrassed?

Embarrassment would be a peculiar reaction.

Really? You aren't embarrassed about the fact that your government has made it illegal for search engines to display certain forms of information?

By that logic you would be opposed to Child Porn bans. After all, it is the government making it illegal for search engines to display certain forms of information.

[dead0man]

None of our Euros have an opinion on this?  Perhaps you're appropriately embarrassed?

You know I find your Stockholm Syndrome toward BB fascinating.

I have no idea what this means.

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You are correct on all counts.  It is way to easy to sue in the US and this will only be used/abused by the wealthy.  Hopefully anyone (else*) that tries will have the Striesand effect happen to them.


*Google Mario Costeja González


This isn't a win for "privacy".

[Middle-aged Europe]

Folks, we must recognize the fact that there's an almost insurmountable cultural divide between Americans and Europeans on the issue which we won't be able to solve in this thread. Europeans want data protection and privacy rights, Americans freedom of information and transparency. That's simply how it is.

[Franzl]

Folks, we must recognize the fact that there's an almost insurmountable cultural divide between Americans and Europeans on the issue which we won't be able to solve in this thread. Europeans want data protection and privacy rights, Americans freedom of information and transparency. That's simply how it is.

That's the issue. I could start a thread asking how embarrassed Americans are that almost anyone can walk into a gun shop and buy a semi-automatic weapon, but I doubt a majority find that as embarrassing as I would.

But it's another case of culture being so different that it's not really worth debating anymore, as Europeans and Americans just aren't going to agree.

[Niemeyerite]

None of our Euros have an opinion on this?  Perhaps you're appropriately embarrassed?

You know I find your Stockholm Syndrome toward BB fascinating.

I have no idea what this means.

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You are correct on all counts.  It is way to easy to sue in the US and this will only be used/abused by the wealthy.  Hopefully anyone (else*) that tries will have the Striesand effect happen to them.


*Google Mario Costeja González


This isn't a win for "privacy".

Yes, it is. This is the kind of reasoning some journalists used here against Mario Costeja, but he said he knew that and that he doesn't care about it if he manages to win the case (and he won). Because, you know, now he isn't the criminal whose name is in google, now he's the man who managed to beat a giant,, a kind of hero for many Spanish who, like me, are libertarian-esque

[dead0man]

Except now a LOT more people know about his embarrassing past and will still know it if they search Google.  What exactly did he accomplish?

[dead0man]

He accomplished a bad law, he didn't accomplish his goal of having his embarrassing past erased.

[dead0man]

You don't think the same thing is going to happen every time a rich guy tries to get a link removed from every search engine in the world?

[freefair]

I must be American on this issue, for practical reasons & a mistrust of those with the power to possibly abuse this system.

[Deus Naturae]

I'm really not seeing what allowing the government to ban people from viewing information that they have determined is "outdated" has to do with privacy rights...

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I'm somewhat sympathetic to the idea of a "right to be forgotten" but when it comes up against freedom of the press like this I find it disconcerting.

Is Google required to just remove the link from the search results for the man's name, or is Google supposed to remove all links to the article even with different search terms?

[dead0man]

You don't think the same thing is going to happen every time a rich guy tries to get a link removed from every search engine in the world?

Why do you presume this is only available to rich people? The media reports suggest there are many applicants already. Surely they won't all result in their cases being highlighted - I'm presuming they'll get some safety in numbers.

I'm not the only one that thinks that way.

As for this case it's not a big deal. You more or less have to sue search engines for them to remove these information, and there they major difference between USA and most of the rest of the World in. Outside USA it's a major investment to sue someone, the compensation when you sue are smaller, so it's very rare to see a lawyer willing to sue against getting part of the compensation, so this is expensive for the plaintiff, so this are unlikely to be very expensive for Search Engines.

[ingemann]

You don't think the same thing is going to happen every time a rich guy tries to get a link removed from every search engine in the world?

Why do you presume this is only available to rich people? The media reports suggest there are many applicants already. Surely they won't all result in their cases being highlighted - I'm presuming they'll get some safety in numbers.

I'm not the only one that thinks that way.

As for this case it's not a big deal. You more or less have to sue search engines for them to remove these information, and there they major difference between USA and most of the rest of the World in. Outside USA it's a major investment to sue someone, the compensation when you sue are smaller, so it's very rare to see a lawyer willing to sue against getting part of the compensation, so this is expensive for the plaintiff, so this are unlikely to be very expensive for Search Engines.

I didn't say anything about rich people, most middle class people could afford these lawsuit, but it would be a significant investment, which would ensure few people would care to push these cases.

[Tirnam]

Today Google launches its webform through which people can submit their requests.

Google:

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[swl]

Google started removing links today. It does not seem so difficult after all. Yahoo and Microsoft are working on a similar process, and cases similar to the one in Europe may soon be heard in Canada and Japan.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/google-starts-removing-search-results-under-europes-right-to-be-forgotten-1403774023