By Sam Schechner
PARIS-- Google Inc. has removed tens of thousands of
links--possibly more than 100,000--from its European search results
from some individuals, according to a person familiar with the
matter, illustrating the scale of Europe's nascent "right to be
forgotten."
The Mountain View, Calif., company told European privacy
regulators during a meeting in Brussels Thursday that it has
removed slightly more than 50% of the links that it has so far
processed under the new right, the person said.
Established by a May decision from the European Union's top
court, the new right to be forgotten gives Europeans the ability to
request that search engines remove information about them from
search results for their own names.
Since Google began taking removal requests in late May, it has
received them from 91,000 individuals, covering 328,000
URLs--though not all the requests have yet been processed, the
person said, adding that the rate of removals was still
preliminary.
Google's removal rate is the first clear signal of how broadly
the search company is implementing the right-to-be-forgotten
ruling, and could help set a broader precedent. Other firms like
Microsoft Corp. have been watching Google closely to see how it
interprets the decision. European politicians, who are debating a
law that could implement a more stringent version of the right, are
watching as well.
Google's disclosure could also soothe tensions with privacy
regulators, who called Thursday's meeting and have been critical of
how the search company has implemented the ruling. Some have been
demanding that Google end its notifications to websites that have
been the subject of right to be forgotten requests, which have in
some cases made it possible to identify the person making the
request.
The more-than-50% rate could, however, fuel concerns among
free-speech advocates, who have said that the overall decision
risks leading to broader censorship of the Web.
"If you let this go without protest, then it will creep," said
Bob Satchwell, executive director of the U.K.'s Society of Editors.
"This passion for privacy will creep into law across Europe and
erode the freedom of speech."
During Thursday's meeting, Google gave some of the most detail
yet about how its removals work. The search company said it has
rejected just over 30% of the requests it has received, and has
requested more information from requesting parties in 15% of cases,
the person familiar with the matter said.
Through July 18 most requests came from France, with 17,500
requests. Germany had 16,500 requests, and 12,000 requests
originated in the U.K., the person said. Some 8,000 requests came
from Spain, 7,500 from Italy, and 5,500 from the Netherlands, the
person added.
Write to Sam Schechner at sam.schechner@wsj.com
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