“BRUSSELS—Individuals can ask Google Inc. GOOGL +2.24% to remove links to news articles, court judgments and other documents in search results for their name, the European Union’s highest court said Tuesday—a surprise decision that could significantly disrupt how Google and other search-engine operators work across Europe.
The case centered on the so-called right to be forgotten, which plaintiffs argued before the court gives individuals the opportunity to request old information about them be removed from search engines. The ruling means that individuals can request operators remove links that come up during searches. It doesn’t mean that the original article or website has to be removed or altered—it would only affect search results.
The ruling contradicts the position of the European Union’s advocate general, who offered an opinion last year saying operators were under no obligation to honor such requests. Google called the ruling disappointing but said it needed time to analyze the implications. Other search engine operators, like Yahoo Inc. YHOO +2.04% and Microsoft Corp., which operates the search platform Bing, would also be affected by the ruling. No one at Yahoo was immediately available to comment while Microsoft declined to comment.
The decision “makes grim reading for Google and will delight privacy advocates in the EU,” said Richard Cumbley, information-management and data-protection partner at U.K. law firm Linklaters.
The European Court of Justice said Tuesday that search companies are responsible for personal data that shows up on Web pages they link to in search results…..”
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Hey, are you a politician or a rich guy who has done a bunch of scummy shit, no worries, pay some internet lawyer to get google to remove all the links.
Are you an ordinary person, well tough shit because you don’t have the time to do this, so the information will be there forever.
lol TJWP…that sounds about right to me