The idea behind the ruling was that European citizens should be allowed to hide a link on Google if they don't want it to be publicly accessible, under a so-called "right to be forgotten." The question, however, is whether an individual's personal desires overrules the public's right to know about events that are a matter of public record.
This question becomes more urgent when you know a few of the examples of links that have already been submitted for removal by Google. A source familiar with the situation gave Business Insider these five cases that have been brought up since the EU ruling on Tuesday:
- A former politician requested that Google remove links to a news article about his behavior when previously in office, so that he can have a clean slate when running for a new position.
- A man who was convicted of possessing child sexual abuse imagery requested that Google remove links to pages about his conviction.
- A convicted cyberstalker requested that Google remove a link to an article about cyberstalking laws that mentions his name.
- A physician requested that Google remove a link to a review site.
- A man who tried to kill his family requested that Google remove a link to a news article that discusses the event.
These are the kinds of people who are taking advantage of the EU's recent ruling.
$4, European commissioner for justice of fundamental rights and citizenship, the EU ruling was a success for personal data protection. "The data belongs to the individual, not to the company," she posted to Facebook. "And unless there is a good reason to retain this data, an individual should be empowered - by law - to request erasure of this data."