Google Inc. (GOOG) shouldnt have to remove content from its search engine that was lawfully published elsewhere, the company argued in a case at the European Unions top court that will set boundaries between freedom of expression and data-protection rights. <\/p>\n
The operator of the worlds largest search engine isnt a data controller, it is a mere intermediary in terms of the data which it indexes, Google lawyer Francisco Enrique Gonzalez-Diaz told a panel of 15 judges at the EU Court of Justice hearing today. Direct requests for personal information to be removed from a search engine -- even if it was put online by a newspaper -- would be a fundamental shift of responsibility from the publisher to the search engine and would amount to censorship. <\/p>\n
The dispute raises questions about the scope of EU privacy rules when it comes to personal data on the Internet; the rights of search engines to use any online data to remain commercially successful; and who ultimately is in charge of what happens with the data. The Luxembourg-based courts ruling will be binding on courts across the 27-nation bloc. <\/p>\n
The case was triggered by about 200 instances of Spains data-protection authority ordering Google to remove information on people. The information in todays case concerned a Spanish man whose house was auctioned off for failing to pay taxes. Newspaper La Vanguardia published the information in 1998 and years later it could still be found via a Google search. <\/p>\n
In this case and in many other cases, serious harm is done to individuals, Joaquin Munoz Rodriguez, a lawyer representing the man, told the EU court. The information is tracked and ordered by Google and contains, to a very large extent, personal data. <\/p>\n
Google is liable because it allows easy and quick access to information that wasnt easily found online before, he said. <\/p>\n
Google faces privacy investigations around the world as it adds services and steps up competition with Facebook Inc. (FB) for users and advertisers. The Mountain View, California-based company created a uniform set of privacy policies last year for more than 60 products, unleashing criticism from regulators and consumer advocates over whether it was properly protecting data. <\/p>\n
People shouldnt be prevented from learning that a politician was convicted of taking a bribe, or that a doctor was convicted of malpractice, Google said in a blog post. The substantive question before the court today is whether search engines should be obliged to remove links to valid legal material. <\/p>\n
Data protection is currently policed by separate regulators across the EU. The blocs executive body wants to simplify the system so companies deal with only one. <\/p>\n
A lawyer for the European Commission, the EUs executive, argued today that Google does control data. That view diverges from an opinion of a group representing the blocs data- protection watchdogs, which said search engines are generally not to be held primarily responsible for content. <\/p>\n
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\nGoogle Cites Censorship Risk in EU Data Control Lawsuit<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"