Google ‘memory loss’ bites

Brussels: Google’s removal of some search results in Europe is drawing accusations of censorship.

The US firm has to comply with a strict privacy ruling made in May by the European Union’s top court that enables citizens to ask for the removal of embarrassing personal information that pops up on a search of their names.

At least three British media, including the Guardian newspaper and public broadcaster BBC, say they have been notified by Google that links to some of their articles were removed from search results in Europe.

The Guardian says six articles have been removed in what the newspaper calls a “challenge to press freedom.” The BBC says one blog entry was removed, while the Mail Online saw four articles removed.

Websites reported how the European Union's law giving people a “right to be forgotten”: It is censoring the internet, giving new tools that help the rich and powerful (and ordinary folk) hide negative information about them, and letting criminals make their histories disappear.

Google was required to delete a link a this BBC article about Stan O’Neal, the former CEO of Merrill Lynch. O’Neal led the bank in the mid-2000s, a period when it became dangerously over-exposed to the looming mortgage crisis. When the crisis hit, Merrill’s losses were so great the bank had to be sold to Bank of America. O’Neal lost his job, but he exited with a $161.5 million golden parachute. There is nothing incorrect in the post, a report said.

“There is an argument that in removing the blog, Google is confirming the fears of many in the industry that the ‘right to be forgotten’ will be abused to curb freedom of expression and to suppress legitimate journalism that is in the public interest,"  BBC’s Robert Peston said.