Google Overloaded with European 'Right to be Forgotten' Requests, Says Removal Isn't an Easy Process
With privacy and security being top concerns for conscientious web users in today's world of cyber crime and identity theft, many European citizens are exercising their “right to be forgotten” by requesting that Google removes all traces of their online identity from internet existence by removing links to potentially information from the search engine's index.
In essence, individuals are requesting to have their personal information de-indexed so that their past can't be used to tarnish or damage their reputation in the future. The right to be forgotten is a fundamental aspect of cyber security that has been recognized and respected by numerous courts in the United States, Argentina, and France during the past 5 years. France has been the most active in sending Google link removal requests, even adding the concept to French Law back in 2010.
How Many Removal Requests Have There Been?
Last month, TheVerge did a detailed piece on how many requests have come from each nation in the European Union. As of July 18th, Google has reportedly received more than 90,000 requests to remove a total of nearly 330,000 links under Europe's new “right to be forgotten” policy. According to a letter from Google's global privacy counsel sent to a European Union data protection committee, France has submitted the most removal requests with about 17,500, while Germany ranks in second with about 16,500 requests.
Although Google is yet to specify exactly how many of those removal requests have been successfully fulfilled, it has stated that about 53% of the accepted requests have been processed. On Thursday the search engine did tell the EU that honoring right to be forgotten requests is a somewhat difficult process. It turns out that many of the requests are based on false or misleading information, and it is becoming a slight challenge for the already busy Google to sift through the hundreds of thousands of links that need to be processed and removed.
Discerning Legitimate Requests From Fraudulent Ones
Even in cases where the person requesting to be forgotten is doing so legally and ethically, they may understandably choose to omit details about the information that needs to be removed, as there is clear motivation for some people to avoid mentioning certain embarrassing or revealing facts about their removal requests.
For example, someone attempting to remove information about a crime they committed as an adolescent might purposefully neglect to mention that they've been convicted of similar crimes as an adult, or that they're running for office or applying for a job that requires public trust. This additional layer of secrecy makes some requests difficult to fully investigate and could result in removals that are actually protecting individuals in situations where they should not be protected.
Another challenge that Google has been facing is that some removal requests target links to information that may be about a person with an identical or similar name, so there is an opportunity for confusion to cause unintentional or unnecessary link removals.
Google Responds to EU Data Protection Regulators
Last week the EU data protection regulators held a meeting with several Internet search companies, and in response Google sent out its replies in a 13-page letter that primarily aims to clarify which requests are in the public interest, as well as whether it is legal and permissible for links to government-posted information to be removed at an individual's request.
The May ruling from the European Court of Justice has challenged Google to balance privacy rights with freedom of information. The ruling stated that individuals have the right to request the removal of links to certain information that is inaccurate or outdated. As a result, many European news companies have been upset by the fact that Google has been removing links to news stories based on the recent court order.
It should be noted that the removed links will still remain visible on the US version of Google – Google.com, and the links can only be removed if they fall under specific search terms, like the person's legal name.
