<div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div><br></div><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27631001">http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27631001</a><div><br></div><div><p class="" id="story_continues_1" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left;font-weight:bold">
Google has launched a service to allow Europeans to ask for personal data to be removed from online search results.</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
The move comes after a landmark European Union court ruling earlier this month, which gave people the "right to be forgotten".</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
Links to "irrelevant" and outdated data should be erased on request, it said.</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
Google said it would assess each request and balance "privacy rights of the individual with the public's right to know and distribute information".</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
"When evaluating your request, we will look at whether the results include outdated information about you, as well as whether there's a public interest in the information," <a href="https://support.google.com/legal/contact/lr_eudpa?product=websearch" style="color:rgb(74,113,148);line-height:16px;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold">Google says on the form which applicants must fill in</a>.</p>
<div class="" style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;clear:both;float:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;font-size:13px"><img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74982000/jpg/_74982321_line976.jpg" width="464" height="2" alt="line" style="border: 0px; letter-spacing: 0px; font-style: italic;"></div>
<span class="" style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;display:block;font-weight:bold;margin:0px 0px 16px;font-size:1.231em">Case study - Brad from Derbyshire</span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
<em style="line-height:16px">"The story was relating to an offence of drinking and driving. A criminal conviction.</em></p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
<em style="line-height:16px">"But has it got any public interest that somebody was convicted of that several years ago? I don't think so."</em></p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27642792" style="color:rgb(74,113,148);line-height:16px;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold">'Google should forget me'</a></p><div class="" style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;clear:both;float:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;font-size:13px">
<img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74982000/jpg/_74982321_line976.jpg" width="464" height="2" alt="line" style="border: 0px; letter-spacing: 0px; font-style: italic;"></div><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
Google said it would look at information about "financial scams, professional malpractice, criminal convictions, or public conduct of government officials" while deciding on the request.</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
Earlier this month, the BBC learned that more than half of the requests sent to Google from UK individuals involved convicted criminals.</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
This included a man convicted of possessing child abuse images who had also asked for links to pages about his conviction to be wiped.</p><span class="" style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;display:block;font-weight:bold;margin:0px 0px 16px;font-size:1.231em">'Fraudulent requests'</span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
Google said information would start to be removed from mid-June and any results affected by the removal process would be flagged to searchers.</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
Decisions about data removal would be made by people rather than the algorithms that govern almost every other part of Google's search system.</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
Disagreements about whether information should be removed or not will be overseen by national data protection agencies.</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
Europe's data regulators are scheduled to meet on 3-4 June. The "right to forget" will be discussed at that gathering and could result in a statement about how those watchdogs will handle appeals.</p><div class="" style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;clear:both;float:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;font-size:13px">
<img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74982000/jpg/_74982321_line976.jpg" width="464" height="2" alt="line" style="border: 0px; letter-spacing: 0px; font-style: italic;"></div><span class="" style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;display:block;font-weight:bold;margin:0px 0px 16px;font-size:1.231em">Analysis - Rory Cellan-Jones</span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
<em style="line-height:16px">"Much of the comment online has been deeply sceptical about the right to be forgotten, particularly in the US where the First Amendment guaranteeing free speech would make this kind of ruling impossible.</em></p>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left"><em style="line-height:16px">Some have pointed out that information won't be removed from <a href="http://google.com">google.com</a>, just your local version of the search engine, while others question the sheer practicality."</em></p>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left"><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27634746" style="color:rgb(74,113,148);line-height:16px;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold">Google agrees to forget</a></p>
<div class="" style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;clear:both;float:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;font-size:13px"><img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74982000/jpg/_74982321_line976.jpg" width="464" height="2" alt="line" style="border: 0px; letter-spacing: 0px; font-style: italic;"></div>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">Information will only disappear from searches made in Europe. Queries piped through its sites outside the region will still show the contested data.</p>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">On 13 May, the EU's court of justice ruled that links to "irrelevant" and outdated data on search engines should be erased on request.</p>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">The case was brought by a Spanish man who complained that an auction notice of his repossessed home, which appeared on Google's search results, infringed his privacy.</p>
<span class="" style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;display:block;font-weight:bold;margin:0px 0px 16px;font-size:1.231em">Less innovation?</span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
On Friday, Google said that EU citizens who want their private details removed from the search engine will be able to do so by filling out an online form.</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
However, they will need to provide links to the material they want removed, their country of origin, and a reason for their request.</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">
Individuals will also have to attach a valid photo identity.</p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">"Google often receives fraudulent removal requests from people impersonating others, trying to harm competitors, or improperly seeking to suppress legal information," the firm said.</p>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">"To prevent this kind of abuse, we need to verify identity."</p>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">However, in <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/b827b658-e708-11e3-88be-00144feabdc0.html#axzz332EriqfM" style="color:rgb(74,113,148);line-height:16px;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold">an interview given to the Financial Times</a>, Google boss Larry Page said that although the firm would comply with the ruling, it could damage innovation.</p>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">He also said the regulation would give cheer to repressive regimes.</p>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">Mr Page said he regretted not being "more involved in a real debate" about privacy in Europe, and that the company would now try to "be more European".</p>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">But, he warned, "as we regulate the internet, I think we're not going to see the kind of innovation we've seen".</p>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">Mr Page added that the ruling would encourage "other governments that aren't as forward and progressive as Europe to do bad things".</p>
<div class="" style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;clear:both;float:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;font-size:13px"><img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74982000/jpg/_74982321_line976.jpg" width="464" height="2" alt="line" style="border: 0px; letter-spacing: 0px; font-style: italic;"></div>
<div class="" style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;clear:both;float:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;font-size:13px"><img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74813000/jpg/_74813810_012049212-1.jpg" width="464" height="261" alt="European Court of Justice, Luxembourg" style="border: 0px; letter-spacing: 0px; font-style: italic;"></div>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;font-size:1.077em;clear:left">People keen to get data removed from Google's index must:</p><ul style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;list-style:none;font-size:13px">
<li style="line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 8px;padding:0px 0px 0px 16px;font-size:1.077em;background-image:url(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/view/3_0_19/cream/hi/shared/img/story_sprite.gif);background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">
Provide weblinks to the relevant material</li><li style="line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 8px;padding:0px 0px 0px 16px;font-size:1.077em;background-image:url(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/view/3_0_19/cream/hi/shared/img/story_sprite.gif);background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">
Name their home country</li><li style="line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 8px;padding:0px 0px 0px 16px;font-size:1.077em;background-image:url(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/view/3_0_19/cream/hi/shared/img/story_sprite.gif);background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">
Explain why the links should be removed</li><li style="line-height:18px;margin:0px 0px 8px;padding:0px 0px 0px 16px;font-size:1.077em;background-image:url(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/view/3_0_19/cream/hi/shared/img/story_sprite.gif);background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">
Supply photo ID to help Google guard against fraudulent applications</li></ul><div class="" style="color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif;line-height:16px;clear:both;float:none;margin:0px 0px 15px;font-size:13px">
<img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66933000/gif/_66933045_line2.gif" width="464" height="1" alt="line break " style="border: 0px; letter-spacing: 0px; font-style: italic;"></div><div><br></div>-- <br><i><font color="#006600"><b>We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.</b></font> </i>-- <b>Frank Tibolt</b>
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