EU Reinforces ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ By Erasing False Claims Of People

The European Union (EU) Court of Justice recently ruled that its ‘right to be forgotten’ law will now extend to bogus claims about individuals. Going forward, Google, Bing, and other search engines will be made to remove requested search results that are “manifestly inaccurate.” 

Of course, those submitting requests for these results to be removed will be tasked with providing enough evidence for their claims, though the legislation stipulates they’ll only be made to offer proof that can be “reasonably” acquired, not requiring a court ruling. 

The ruling states that the person who has made a request for search results to be de-referenced must submit “relevant and sufficient evidence capable of substantiating his or her request and of establishing the manifest inaccuracy of the information” found in the posts.

According to Reuters, the ‘right to be forgotten’ was first introduced in 2014, when the EU determined that residents could request for search engines to remove “inadequate or irrelevant information” from results involving their names. 

As per Engadget, the updated law comes as a response to a case in which two investment managers had asked Google to delist search results showing articles maligning their business model. 

Despite the duo claiming the post was false and used images taken out of context, the technology giant declined to proceed with their request, as it couldn’t prove if the information was indeed accurate.

In response to the change, Google tells Politico it “welcome[s] the decision,” and that the search results and image thumbnails in the aforementioned case had been taken off the site for quite a while. 

While this ruling will provide extra protection against defamation and false claims, the site points out that it doesn’t address parody posts, or inaccurate information intended as a joke. Plus, could minor loopholes in the law be exploited to silence criticism? A follow-up may be needed.

[via Engadget and Reuters, cover image via Olivier Le Moal | Dreamstime.com]