Skip to main content

Right to be forgotten: Google may flag up instances of removed links

google said to be planning new messaging app that uses ai headquarters sign
Image used with permission by copyright holder

As Google continues to receive around 10,000 requests a day from Europe-based Web users keen to exercise their “right to be forgotten“, a report in the Guardian on Sunday claimed the Mountain View company is considering flagging up instances where links have been removed by placing an alert at the bottom of a page of returned results.

Google already uses such a system for searches involving copyrighted material – for example, MP3s for music tracks – notifying the Web user of the number of links that have been removed from the results page following a request by the copyright holder.

A controversial ruling by the European Court of Justice on May 13 gave those living in Europe the right to be forgotten and have links to Web pages removed if the information contained on those pages is considered to be irrelevant, out of date, or inappropriate.

While Google launched an online form at the end of last month allowing Web users in Europe to request the removal of search engine results linking to sites containing information about them, the company is still working out how best to implement the system and deal with requests.

To be clear, should Google agree with a person’s request to have links removed, the Web page will stay online, but Google will on longer link to it in its search results.

The Web giant said last week that in the space of just a few days it’d received 41,000 requests for link removal, with one report suggesting the company may have to hire new workers to help deal with the deluge.

Takedown requests have so far come from a variety of people, including, according to the Guardian, “a politician with a murky past, a convicted pedophile and a man who had attempted to murder his family and wanted to remove links about his crime.”

The idea that Google may flag up instances where links have been removed will likely come as a disappointment to those whose takedown requests are granted as it would simply draw attention to the fact that there’s more content on the Web related to the individual concerned and would therefore likely motivate the person performing the search to dig deeper in an effort to find that ‘hidden’ content.

[Image: Lightpoet / Shutterstock]

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Quick! This MSI gaming laptop dropped from $1,500 to $1,000
The MSI Stealth 14-inch gaming laptop at a side angle.

One of the better gaming laptop deals comes via Best Buy with a huge $500 off the MSI Stealth 14-inch gaming laptop. It normally costs $1,500, so with the price down to $1,000, you’re getting a seriously good deal for the latest tech. If you’re keen to know more, keep reading while we take you through everything.

Why you should buy the MSI Stealth 14-inch gaming laptop
MSI is one of the best laptop brands around despite not being quite as big a name as some rivals. Its penchant is gaming hardware and that’s shown in the MSI Stealth 14-inch gaming laptop. It has an Intel Core i7-13620H processor along with 16GB of memory and 1TB of SSD storage, so it has all the key components you could need. Alongside that is an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card with 8GB of dedicated VRAM.

Read more
How to unjam a printer and stop it from happening again
Clearing a jam on the HP Smart Tank 5101 isn't easy.

There are few things as frustrating as a paper jam. Unfortunately, it's all too common for paper jams to happen when you rush to print labels for express shipments or need hard copies for a meeting. That's true on even the best printers.

A printer jam not only stops your progress, but also demands immediate attention because you won't be able to print until it's cleared. It could be a serious mistake to ignore the issue and try printing again since that could damage the printer.

Read more
This Lenovo ThinkPad is usually priced at $2,688 — today it’s $589
The Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 3 laptop on a white background.

If you're looking at laptop deals for an offer that will get you a high-performance device for an affordable price, you should check out the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 3, which will be yours for $589. Lenovo says it's a $2,099 discount, but we're not sure about the laptop's original price of $2,688. Nevertheless, it's a powerful laptop for that cost, which should catch the attention of a lot of shoppers. If you're interested, you still have time to take advantage of this bargain, but you should hurry because we're not sure when it will end or when stocks will run out.

Why you should buy the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 3
Lenovo inherited the ThinkPad line from IBM, according to our explainer on the different Lenovo brands, which explains the iconic look, sturdy design, and focus on productivity of the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 3. The laptop will quickly prove that it's a reliable work-from-anywhere partner with its AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 5675U processor and integrated AMD Radeon Graphics, which are combined with 16GB of RAM that's on the level of top-tier machines, according to our guide on how much RAM do you need.

Read more