ICO orders Google to remove nine links to news stories
In a recent order to US-based Internet search giant Google, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has asked the company to remove nine links to news stories. The order by the ICO comes under the "right to be forgotten" ruling passed by the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2014.
The ICO's order comes against the backdrop of complaints received from at least nine people. The complainants said that Google's search results continue to link to 'right to be forgotten' stories which contain links to the original stories, even though they have requested Google remove the links.
The complaints highlight the fact that though Google had previously removed the objectionable links, the removal of the links had itself become a new news story. The complainants are now seeking the removal of the links to the new stories.
According to the ICO, Google had refused to remove the links new news stories when the nine affected individuals contacted the company again. The ICO said that it had to intervene in the matter because Google's search results represent a violation of the Data Protection Act.
About the order to Google to remove nine links to news stories, ICO deputy commissioner David Smith said: "We understand that links being removed as a result of this court ruling is something that newspapers want to write about. And we understand that people need to be able to find these stories through search engines like Google. But that does not need them to be revealed when searching on the original complainant's name."
