Europe's highest court ruled Tuesday that people have the "right to be forgotten" and can ask Google to remove some sensitive information from Internet search results.
The case stems from a Spanish national’s request that Google stop linking his name to a 16-year-old announcement relating to the auction of his house because of a debt.
The European high court said that any company that gathers or indexes information about European citizens is subject to its laws, even if the company has no physical presence in that nation, because the information is being presented in that country via the internet.
Google said in a statement on Thursday that "This is a disappointing ruling for search engines and online publishers in general. We now must take time to analyze the implications. Implementation of the ruling will be complicated because of the many languages that are affected here. As soon as we develop a practical method, we will inform users. This could take several weeks”.
Dealing with these requests will cost money, but Google and other search companies already perform similar operations. For example, in the matter of copyright infringement, they routinely take down YouTube videos.
The ruling will not immediately affect Google's U.S. operations.
According to Glenn Gabe, president of G-Squared Interactive, a provider of digital marketing services to executives and celebrities, many people have something in their past they would like to remove from the Internet. "Let's say they went to prison maybe ten years ago, right? And everything's still showing up in Google on page one, even though they've paid their dues".
"The debate here is which is more important: the right to privacy or the freedom of information? The EU ruling is a very powerful statement in support of privacy" said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C.
"The decision is groundbreaking and will fundamentally change the landscape not only in the field of privacy, but also in the information economy generally," Trevor Hughes, president and CEO of the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
Fordham law professor Joel Reidenberg, an expert on information law and privacy, said "A U.S. court would likely treat search results differently, since a section of the Telecommunications Act gives a company such as Google immunity from being responsible for content on their service"
For Jules Polonetsky, executive director of Washington's Future of Privacy Forum, the decision sets a legal precedent that is likely to limit the freedom of information in general — both in terms of individual privacy and, in some case, the right to a free press.
edited from USA Today, and Financial Times
