Google is introducing an online form that will allow users in Europe to ask the search engine to remove links that they think are outdated and damaging to their personal privacy. The move follows a ruling by the European Court of Justice recognising the 'right to be forgotten' on search engines if damaging information becomes outdated and does not serve any public interest. CEO Larry Page confirmed the plans in an interview with the Financial Times, saying the system would be similar to Google's existing mechanisms to take down material related to child pornography and copyright infringement.
The company also plans a committee made up of mostly outside experts to hold hearings in Europe and advise it on how to deal with its new privacy responsibilities. Page said the company would spend more time consulting the public and "a very significant amount of time in Europe talking". The new committee will be headed by chairman Eric Schmidt and general counsel David Drummond and also include Jimmy Wales, head of Wikipedia, along with academics and former data regulators from a number of European countries.
Page praised the court for trying to limit the type of information that can be removed to include only situations where people have a strong reason to object. In the two weeks since the ruling, Google has received "a few thousand" requests from people in Europe to remove links to private information, Page said. A large proportion of the requests have come from public figures trying to have embarrassing personal information removed from the search engine. However, the CEO noted that this kind of information about figures of public interest is not subject to the court ruling. Germany has led in the number of take-down requests, according to information released by Google.
The CEO warned that the court ruling could have negative consequences. While a large company like Google address the privacy requirements, small start-ups may find it more difficult and this could limit their ability to innovate and develop new services. In addition, other "less progressive" countries than Europe could exploit the ruling to promote censorship of the internet, Page said.
