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‘Right to Be Forgotten’ Should Apply Worldwide, E.U. Panel Says ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ Should Apply Worldwide, E.U. Panel Says
(about 2 hours later)
LONDON — Europe is taking aim at Google, again.LONDON — Europe is taking aim at Google, again.
Privacy watchdogs in the European Union issued guidelines on Wednesday calling on the company to apply the recent ruling on the so-called right to be forgotten to all Google search results. Privacy watchdogs in the European Union issued guidelines on Wednesday calling on the company to apply the recent “right to be forgotten” ruling to Google’s entire search empire.
The new guidelines, issued by a panel composed of privacy regulators from the bloc’s 28 member states, would require Google and other search engines in certain cases to take down links at the request of individuals in the companies’ search domains in Europe as well as outside the region. Right now, the right to be forgotten ruling – which created a process for people to remove unwanted content from Google’s search results – applies only to Google’s local European sites, like Google.de in Germany. But the law is easy to get around, because to get the full list of search results all anyone has to do is perform a search on Google’s other sites, like Google.com.
Currently, a ruling by the highest court in the European Union applies only to the company’s European domains, like google.de in Germany or google.fr in France; individuals in Europe and elsewhere can still retrieve complete online information by using non-European domains like Google.com. The new guidelines, issued by a panel composed of the bloc’s national privacy regulators, aim to firm the law up by requiring Google and other search engines to take down links on sites outside the region as well.
Europe’s privacy watchdogs said, however, that this interpretation of the decision did not go far enough to guarantee privacy.
“Under E.U. law, everyone has a right to data protection,” the regulatory body said in a statement on Wednesday. “Decisions must be implemented in such a way that they guarantee the effective and complete protection of data subjects’ rights and that E.U. law cannot be circumvented.”“Under E.U. law, everyone has a right to data protection,” the regulatory body said in a statement on Wednesday. “Decisions must be implemented in such a way that they guarantee the effective and complete protection of data subjects’ rights and that E.U. law cannot be circumvented.”
Regulators did not clarify, however, whether the guidelines would apply to requests made only by residents of the European Union, or if people in other countries could use the ruling to make requests for links to be removed. On Wednesday, a Google spokesman said that the company had yet to review Europe’s new privacy guidelines — they will not be officially published until the end of the week — but that the company would study them carefully when they were published.
The guidelines also raised questions about whether Europe’s data protection rules — which are some of the most stringent in the world — could be enforced beyond the 28-member bloc, and if American tech companies like Google and Microsoft would have to comply with the privacy ruling in their American operations. For now, the decision to expand the scope of the “right to be forgotten” is mostly just for show. The guidelines are not binding, and it will be up to E.U. member countries to deicide how to apply them — or if they want to apply them at all.
On top of that, regulators did not clarify whether the guidelines would apply only to requests made by residents of the European Union, or if people in other countries could use the E.U. ruling to make requests for links to be removed.
Even if they did, it is not clear how the ruling would be enforced beyond the 28-member European Union, and whether American tech companies would even comply. Regulators admitted as much on Wednesday, saying they would initially concentrate on “right to be forgotten” cases that have clear links to the region’s citizens.
Regulators “will focus on claims where there is a clear link between the data subject and the E.U., for instance where the data subject is a citizen or resident of an E.U. member state.” the European privacy body said.
“This is a line that U.S. companies will be very reluctant to cross,” said Ian Brown, a professor of information security and privacy at the University of Oxford, in discussing the potential global use of Europe’s privacy ruling. “It will come down to who blinks first. The companies or the privacy regulators.”“This is a line that U.S. companies will be very reluctant to cross,” said Ian Brown, a professor of information security and privacy at the University of Oxford, in discussing the potential global use of Europe’s privacy ruling. “It will come down to who blinks first. The companies or the privacy regulators.”
The privacy guidelines are not binding, and it will be up to European Union member countries to decide how to apply them. Despite these difficulties, the decision to expand the scope of the “right to be forgotten” decision to all search results is a blow to Google’s efforts to contain its European problems.
The decision by European privacy chiefs to expand the scope of the “right to be forgotten” decision to potentially all global search results represents a blow to Google, which has tried to limit the privacy ruling to its European operations.
The search giant is already the target of an extensive European antitrust investigation into its search business in the region and will face a resolution in the European Parliament on Thursday that is expected to call for the company’s breakup.The search giant is already the target of an extensive European antitrust investigation into its search business in the region and will face a resolution in the European Parliament on Thursday that is expected to call for the company’s breakup.
The tech company has also faced a series of global privacy challenges this year aimed at forcing it to comply with data protection rulings across all of its search operations.The tech company has also faced a series of global privacy challenges this year aimed at forcing it to comply with data protection rulings across all of its search operations.
Earlier this year, for example, a court in British Columbia ordered Google to remove specific results from its worldwide domains related to an intellectual property dispute in Canada. Google is appealing the decision.Earlier this year, for example, a court in British Columbia ordered Google to remove specific results from its worldwide domains related to an intellectual property dispute in Canada. Google is appealing the decision.
And a French court said in September that Google must remove defamatory articles from its global search results about a local lawyer in a case based on the recent “right to be forgotten” decision.And a French court said in September that Google must remove defamatory articles from its global search results about a local lawyer in a case based on the recent “right to be forgotten” decision.
On Wednesday, a Google spokesman said that the company had yet to review Europe’s new privacy guidelines, but that it would do so when they are published. The “right to be forgotten” ruling has become a major sticking point between privacy advocates, who believe individuals have the right to ask that links be removed, and campaigners for freedom of expression, who have stressed that the legal decision unjustly limits what can be published online.
The “right to be forgotten” ruling has become a major point of contention between privacy advocates, who believe individuals have the right to ask that links be removed, and campaigners for freedom of expression, who have stressed that the legal decision unjustly limits what can be published online.
Since the ruling in May, Google — which holds close to 85 percent of Europe’s online search market — has received roughly 175,000 requests, from people in Europe and outside the region, to remove links to online material, according to the company’s transparency report.Since the ruling in May, Google — which holds close to 85 percent of Europe’s online search market — has received roughly 175,000 requests, from people in Europe and outside the region, to remove links to online material, according to the company’s transparency report.
As part of the privacy decision, individuals — whether based in Europe or outside the region — must submit requests to search engines with links to the content that they want removed. Submissions must show that the online information is either out of date or no longer relevant, and that there is not a public interest to keep links to the content.As part of the privacy decision, individuals — whether based in Europe or outside the region — must submit requests to search engines with links to the content that they want removed. Submissions must show that the online information is either out of date or no longer relevant, and that there is not a public interest to keep links to the content.
Google has agreed so far to about 42 percent of the requests, according to the company’s own records. And if people are not satisfied with a search company’s initial decision, they can refer their submissions to national data regulators, which will make a final ruling.Google has agreed so far to about 42 percent of the requests, according to the company’s own records. And if people are not satisfied with a search company’s initial decision, they can refer their submissions to national data regulators, which will make a final ruling.
While the guidelines are not legally binding, data protection experts say that some national watchdogs — particularly in countries like France and Germany that have taken a tough stance on online privacy — may seek to comply with the recommendations related to search engines’ global operations.
But European regulators also conceded on Wednesday that it might be hard to force Google and other search engines to comply with the privacy rules in jurisdictions like the United States that do not have the same privacy rules.
In a nod to this difficulty, the regulators said that they would initially concentrate on “claims where there is a clear link between the data subject and the E.U., for instance where the data subject is a citizen or resident of an E.U. member state,” they said on Wednesday.