Internet users in Europe have something Internet users in the United States don't have: a right to be forgotten online. Thanks to a 2014 court case, Europeans can ask Google and other search giants to remove results that are outdated, inaccurate or irrelevant — giving Internet users more control over their online reputations.
Now, a consumer group is asking the Federal Trade Commission to make Google bring that privacy protection to Americans. In a formal complaint to be sent to the agency on Tuesday, Consumer Watchdog argues that withholding that ability from U.S. Internet users is unfair and deceptive — two types of business practices that the FTC is charged with protecting consumers against. The letter urges the FTC to "investigate and act" on the situation.
The right to be forgotten, or the right of relevancy, has gained new urgency in the digital age, the group argues in the letter to the FTC. "Before the Internet if someone did something foolish when they were young — and most of us probably did — there might well be a public record of what happened," the letter says. But those indiscretions required digging to bring up years or decades down the line — and now they're "instantly available with a few clicks on a computer or taps on a mobile device."
The right to be forgotten gives back a level of the privacy by obscurity that people enjoyed before the Internet age, Consumer Watchdog argues. But Google has been unwilling to extend the practice beyond where it's explicitly required — a state of affairs that John Simpson, the director of the organization's Privacy Project, believes puts it on the wrong side of the FTC's mandate to protect consumers. "Google holds itself out as so concerned about users' privacy, but denies this fundamental privacy protection — that's deceptive," Simpson said in an interview.
The European right to be forgotten has been controversial, with some critics arguing that it could conflict with freedom of expression or of the press.
But extending the right to be forgotten to the United States doesn't mean that Google would approve all take-down requests, Simpson said. Nor would it amount to censorship, he argued, because the information would still be available online if Google removed search results — it would just become harder to find.
A Google representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the complaint. But the company's transparency report says it has removed around 41 percent of URLs evaluated under the European right to be forgotten.
The Washington Post
Tue Jul 07 2015
The European right to be forgotten has been controversial, with some critics arguing that it could conflict with freedom of expression or of the press.
Suami artis Indonesia Sandra Dewi ditangkap kes rasuah
Netizen ungkit kisah perkahwinan Sandra Dewi dan suuami di Disneyland serta hadiahkan anak jet peribadi
Lebih 100 pelajar Nigeria berjaya diselamatkan tentera
Tentera Nigeria telah menyelamatkan pelajar dan kakitangan yang diculik oleh lelaki bersenjata dari sebuah sekolah di utara negara itu.
Burung unta 'kesunyian' nekad larikan diri
Haiwan digelar Tadori itu bagaimanapun berjaya ditangkap dan dihantar semula ke taman ekologi selepas berkeliaran selama hampir sejam.
AWANI Pagi: Wajarkah asas teknologi AI diajar dalam pendidikan rendah?
Apa rasional di sebalik cadangan memperkenalkan teknologi Kecerdasan Buatan (AI) di peringkat sekolah rendah? Dr Khadijah Said Hashim, Pensyarah Kanan Jabatan Asas Pendidikan, Fakulti Pendidikan UiTM akan berkongsi pandangannya sama ada ia boleh dilaksanakan atau sebaliknya dalam #AWANIPagi
Arab Saudi dipilih pengerusi Suruhanjaya Status Wanita ke-69
Abdulaziz Alwasil dari Arab Saudi akan berkhidmat sebagai pengerusi sesi ke-69 CSW.
KBS kembali beri tumpuan ke sekolah
Kementerian Belia dan Sukan akan berbincang dengan Kementerian Pendidikan dalam usaha melahirkan lebih ramai atlet berpotensi pada masa depan.
“Saya tak benarkan Diana buat bariatrik” - Farid Kamil
Farid lebih yakin hanya cara semula jadi lebih selamat untuk menurunkan berat badan.
Pemandu bas kilang ditahan, rempuh penunggang motosikal sehingga maut
Mangsa meninggal dunia di tempat kejadian selepas mengalami kecederaan parah di kepala.
Gagal capai sasaran, kerajaan tak boleh pandang ringan
Kegagalan Kerajaan untuk mencapai sasaran 30 juta pendaftar menjelang hujung bulan 3 ini harus dijadikan sebagai satu isyarat bahawa masih ada segelintir yang skeptikal tentang sistem Pangkalan Data Utama (PADU).
Kerajaan harus ambil cakna tentang keraguan orang ramai tentang sistem PADU sebagai satu mesej.
Menurut Presiden Persatuan Pengguna Siber Malaysia, Siraj Jali, masalah ini tercetus akibat kurangnya komunikasi yang cermat dan akhirnya,ia tercetus sebuah pemahaman yang bersegmen dan kompleks.
Kerajaan harus ambil cakna tentang keraguan orang ramai tentang sistem PADU sebagai satu mesej.
Menurut Presiden Persatuan Pengguna Siber Malaysia, Siraj Jali, masalah ini tercetus akibat kurangnya komunikasi yang cermat dan akhirnya,ia tercetus sebuah pemahaman yang bersegmen dan kompleks.
Arab Saudi dipilih pengerusikan Suruhanjaya Status Wanita (CSW) ke-69
Arab Saudi dipilih sebulat suara pada Rabu untuk mempengerusikan badan wanita Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu, Suruhanjaya Status Wanita (CSW).