Google says ‘forgetting’ isn’t easy, as requests mount

Google has told European officials that forgetting isn’t easy, especially when details are few and guidelines are murky regarding when personal privacy trumps public interest.

The world’s leading Internet search engine said that as of July 18 it had received more than 91,000 requests to delete a combined total of 328,000 links under Europe’s “right to be forgotten” ruling.
Google said that 53 percent of the links targeted were removed.

But the California-based Internet titan said it is challenged by having to rely on those making removal requests for information needed to put them in perspective. Google took the opportunity to ask for input on how it should differentiate what is in the public interest and what isn’t, and whether information posted online by governments can be “forgotten” at someone’s request.

Google has been working to balance freedom of information with privacy rights in the wake of the May ruling by the European Court of Justice.