The new EU law on Internet search results ...... the right to be forgotten or opt out of the Internet search results, is yet another in a long line of stupid decisions by a European Court that is almost semi-literate about the real world, and how the Internet works.
I can maybe understand the right to have web sites take down incorrect information, or even spent criminal charges, that no one has the right to see elsewhere. But search engines are not where this information resides, its merely the road map to the content of the Internet .... its sites like this one that hold the information.
Obviously the idiots who came up with this law, chose to attack the search result provider because they can do it easily, rather than individual sites around the world. However how Google and the others such as Bing (other search providers are available), are supposed to police this arrant nonsense is not explained by the court. Probably because they haven't the slightest clue how it should work. On the face of it, Google and the others will be forced to just censor every requested result, or risk European courts fining them.
So just one day later, guess who are the first through the gate requesting 'web invisibility' .... a bad politician (who wants details of his bad behaviour struck from web records), an incompetent doctor with bad patients reviews, and a paedophile, convicted of downloading child pornography ... that about sums it up.
Another bit of clear thinking by the EU courts .... we now have lost the right to 'know' inside the EU. Apparently the court believes that what the individuals wants, outweighs any society gains .... a blow for big brother everywhere. I wonder if we can sue the EU when the first person who would have been protected by open knowledge, is hurt when that the information was not available because of this law. e.g If said paedophile is now hidden from view again, how can the Sarah's Law or Megans Law still work?
It would serve Europe right if all the major search engines abandoned Europe, and left us to the tender mercies of the only search engine that really knows how to censor results ..... Baidu in China.
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| The Web Invisible Man Of Europe |
I can maybe understand the right to have web sites take down incorrect information, or even spent criminal charges, that no one has the right to see elsewhere. But search engines are not where this information resides, its merely the road map to the content of the Internet .... its sites like this one that hold the information.
Obviously the idiots who came up with this law, chose to attack the search result provider because they can do it easily, rather than individual sites around the world. However how Google and the others such as Bing (other search providers are available), are supposed to police this arrant nonsense is not explained by the court. Probably because they haven't the slightest clue how it should work. On the face of it, Google and the others will be forced to just censor every requested result, or risk European courts fining them.
So just one day later, guess who are the first through the gate requesting 'web invisibility' .... a bad politician (who wants details of his bad behaviour struck from web records), an incompetent doctor with bad patients reviews, and a paedophile, convicted of downloading child pornography ... that about sums it up.
Another bit of clear thinking by the EU courts .... we now have lost the right to 'know' inside the EU. Apparently the court believes that what the individuals wants, outweighs any society gains .... a blow for big brother everywhere. I wonder if we can sue the EU when the first person who would have been protected by open knowledge, is hurt when that the information was not available because of this law. e.g If said paedophile is now hidden from view again, how can the Sarah's Law or Megans Law still work?
It would serve Europe right if all the major search engines abandoned Europe, and left us to the tender mercies of the only search engine that really knows how to censor results ..... Baidu in China.
