US based non-profit organisation Consumer Watchdog has slammed the Google-commissioned ‘right to be forgotten’ report, which suggested the implementation of the policy only in the EU, as more than a self-serving publicity stunt.
The organisation added that the vital privacy protection needs to be implemented in the US.
Consumer Watchdog Privacy Project director John Simpson said: "The right to be forgotten is an important privacy protection in the digital age. It’s not censorship; it merely gives people some control over access to irrelevant information about them from the past."
"Instead of trying to limit its scope, Google should be working to adapt the policy for the United States."
Recently, an independent advisory panel of experts has backed Google’s decision to limit the EU’s new ‘right to be forgotten’ mandate to its search results within the region, rather than widening it globally.
Since May, Google has been implementing the ruling on EU Internet domains such as Google.ie, Google.co.uk, Google.fr and Google.de.
The organisation added: "The Google panel’s recommendation and Google’s implementation are at odds with the position of the Article 29 Working Party, the organization of all European data protection authorities."
"The group has said the right should be applied to all Google Internet domains, including Google.com."
Google noted in its Transparency Report of receiving evaluated 769,858 URLS for removal and took out 257,973 or 40.3% of them.
Simpson added: "As Google’s own examples clearly show, removal won’t always happen, but the balance Google has found between privacy and the public’s right to know demonstrates the company can make the right to be forgotten work.
"Americans deserve the same right to be forgotten. With Google’s repeated claims to care about privacy, the company should be ashamed that it’s not treating people on both sides of the Atlantic the same way."
However, privacy regulators have been seeking search engines to remove results across the globe, noting it is very easy to switch from an EU domain to Google.com.
