While searching for certain names or events on Google, you may have noticed a line of text on the page of results stating that “some results may have been removed under data protection law in Europe”. Since 13th May 2014, almost exactly one year ago, Google and other search engines have been legally obliged to be more compliant with an individual’s right not to have inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive information about themselves available in the public domain. Now that the legislation has been in place for a full year, and some information is available on how well (or not) that it is working, here are some “highlights” of the first year of the right to be forgotten.
During the twelve months since the ruling came in effect, Google has reported the following consequences:
- The search engine’s reporting tool has received 253,617 requests to remove specified links from the database
- 920,258 links were stated in these various right to be forgotten requests
- Approximately 40% of requests received were approved, meaning the links in question will no longer be displayed in search results
- Just over 32,000 of these requests were made within the UK, with 37.5% of that total being approved
While the ruling does not apply only to Google, but to all search engines, which are now considered to be “controllers of personal data” and, as such, governed by the relevant sections of EU data protection regulations, Google is the only search engine which notifies the administrators of any websites whose links are being removed.
If you are considering making a request under the right to be forgotten, it is important to remember that the link will only be removed from search engine results; the actual web content will not necessarily be taken offline. As a search engine provider, Google, Yahoo, Bing and other sites are only able to control what they display when a particular search term is used. In order to have the content removed from the internet completely (in so much as that can be done), you would need to contact the webmaster of the site on which the information is hosted.
Being removed from search results under the right to be forgotten also does not mean that the link cannot be obtained by other methods. While we are not providing specific information or naming websites which do so, there are a number of online publications maintaining full lists of removed links. It would appear that this is possible due to the notifications received by Google – when a webmaster receives a notification to remove a link from search engine results, they are able to add it to their list, should they so wish.
Although Google do acknowledge that certain individuals do have the right to be forgotten, it is not as simple as requesting removal of a link and having it completed. At the time of writing, Google are currently in discussions with regulators about approximately 50 of these requests. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has claimed that the internet giant has handled certain cases inappropriately, and are looking to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
A spokesperson for the ICO said “Since the details of the right to be forgotten ruling were first announced, we have handled over 183 complaints from those unhappy with Google’s response to their takedown request.” “In around three-quarters of these cases, we have ruled that Google was correct to turn down an individual’s request to have their information removed. This suggests that, for the most part, Google are getting the balance right between the protection of the individual’s privacy and the interest of internet users.”
The ICO has also stated that Google will only be requested to reverse a decision to reject a right to be forgotten request where there is evidence of an error, not due to the facts of any specific case.
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