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EU panel wants Google to expand ‘right to be forgotten’ practice to prevent workarounds

 

right-to-be-forgotten-search

A European Union panel is trying to get Google to expand the recently passed “right to forgotten” law to the company’s international search engine Google.com. The group is arguing that it’s too easy for people using local versions of Google’s search URL to bypass de-listed links by visiting Mountain View’s primary web search URL which is currently not subject to the controversial ordinance.

As it stands, people in territories operating under the right to be forgotten law are directed to a local version of Google’s website, such as Google.co.uk and Google.fr. While these variations of the company’s search site omit items based on local laws, there’s an optional link to display the international version of Google.com, making the bill almost pointless.

A recent release from the panel fighting to expand the law’s reach refers to this current setup as insufficient, saying that it doesn’t guarantee the rights of people living in the union’s resident countries.

In response, a Google spokesperson told BBC that it hadn’t seen the group’s new guidelines, but advised that it would study them carefully when they became available.

This isn’t Google’s only issue with European Union and how it handles web search. The EU is reportedly in the process of trying to push the company into separating its search platform from the rest of its business, with a vote expected to be taken as soon as tomorrow.

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