The failure of Google to offer users in the USA the same “right to be forgotten” protection available in Europe violates USA law on unfair and deceptive trade practices, according to the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. “We urge the Commission to investigate and act”. He said Google has not been willing to extend the practice unless explicity required, which is “unfair”, and shows itself to be concerned about privacy, which is “deceptive”.
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Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Clearly there is no countervailing benefit in continuing to link to the items from search results, Consumer Watchdog said. The organization pointed to Google’s recent announcement that it would enable users in the U.S.to submit requests to remove links to “revenge porn” images – private photos posted without a subject’s approval – in its search results.
However, FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez told Time last year, “An expansive “right to be forgotten” is not something that’s likely to pass Constitutional muster here in the United States because there is a First Amendment right to both access to public information and freedom of expression”.
In 2014, a European court mandated that Google remove search results from individuals when asked, if the results are irrelevant, outdated, or otherwise inappropriate. Shortly afterward, Google began fielding URL removal requests from users in Europe. It agreed to remove links in 41.3 percent of those requests.
After Europe, it might be America’s turn to enjoy the ‘right to be forgotten’. “Without a doubt requesting the removal of a search engine link from one’s name to irrelevant data under the Right To Be Forgotten (or Right to Relevancy) is an important privacy option”, Consumer Watchdog’s complaint said. “It does not remove content from the Web”, Simpson stated in the complaint.
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In a letter sent today to the FTC, John Simpson, the privacy project director of the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog, argued that though Google says it is dedicated to users’ privacy, its unwillingness to let Americans remove irrelevant search results is hypocritical.
