The Guardian reports that Google may add a indication in the search results that content has been removed due to the Right To Be Forgotten European Union requirements issued last month. Google told us a couple weeks ago that they will indeed add disclosure in the search results when something is removed from their search […]
European Commissioner for Justice Viviane Reding was quoted in a BBC interview saying that the Right to Be Forgotten (RTBF) will be relatively easy for Google to administer. She asserted that, compared to the millions of copyright removal requests Google deals with, the thousands of RTBF requests are a “small thing.” Google also manages government removal requests on a […]
The caution “be careful what you wish for” might be appropriate going into a meeting of 28 European privacy regulators in Brussels this week. Following the European Court of Justice’s creation of the Right to Be Forgotten (RTBF) and Google’s launch of a web form to field requests (now over 41,000), privacy officers must come […]
As of the end of last week there were roughly 12,000 requests that had been officially submitted to Google under Europe’s judicially created “right to be forgotten” (RTBF) rule. Google launched an online form last week to field the requests. According to the Wall Street Journal the 12,000 have now turned into 41,000. That’s roughly […]
Google has taken a big step forward in complying with the European Union’s new “Right To Be Forgotten” that was established after a court ruling earlier this month. The company has created a new form allowing those in the EU to request takedown of URLs they dislike. Removals will only happen for EU-versions of Google, […]
Tonight at the Re/Code conference in Southern California, Google co-founder Sergey Brin was interviewed on stage. He discussed many things, including the diverse range of “Google X” projects: indoor mapping (Tango), WiFi balloons (Project Loon), new prototype self-driving cars and more. Curiously the main interview, though wide ranging, didn’t get into the recent European Court […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: DuckDuckGo Relaunches & Starts To Look Like A Real Search Engine DuckDuckGo, the spunky little search engine that hangs its hat on user privacy, has relaunched today with a new look […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Expands Snapshot With New Food & Drug Entities Bing is getting smarter today with the addition of food- and drug-related entities to its library of facts. The new at-a-glance information […]
The “right to be forgotten”: a triumph of individual privacy rights or censorship? It’s going to depend on how it plays out in specific circumstances. The Luxembourg-based European Union Court of Justice, Europe’s “top court,” ruled earlier today that Google can be compelled to remove information about individuals from search results as part of a […]
Google has lost another case in the Max Mosley lawsuit, this time in Germany. According to a Reuter’s report, a German court has ruled Google is responsible for distributing scandalous pictures of the former Formula One president, and is ordering the search engine to block links to the images from appearing in search results. The […]
In a German case that could have broader antitrust implications in Europe, Google defeated a petition for an injunction brought by a German online weather trade group, Verband Deutscher Wetterdienstleister. The case is interesting because it involves a private antitrust action against Google and directly addresses the “search bias” argument made by Google critics. The […]
If you search for anything at Google UK or on any of the 27 localized versions of Google in the European Union, Google will now prompt you with a notification that they are using cookies to provide search results to you. In fact, Google says that by using Google search you are agreeing to allow […]
Call it “privacy 2.0.” Last year Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg famously (and incorrectly) said that privacy is no longer a social norm. However one has only to witness the uproar this week over Facebook Messenger and the exposure of phone contacts to see that privacy isn’t dead. In Europe — Spain in particular — privacy […]
The European Advocate General is recommending that the Court of Justice of the European Union rule against retailer Marks & Spencer for bidding on the trademarked terms of Interflora, the flower delivery network company. If the Court of Justice acts on the findings, it could effectively spell the end of bidding on competitors’ trademarks in […]
In a case that could have EU-wide implications a Spanish court is asking Google to remove data about a private individual from its index. This is known in Spain and elsewhere in Europe as “the right to be forgotten.” The immediate case at hand involves a Spanish plastic surgeon who was featured in a critical […]
Yes, Google might consider changing its ranking algorithm in response to an EU anti-trust investigation. However, that would fit in with Google’s general practice of changing its algorithm on a regular basis in response to anything the company thinks will improve its results.
Will 2011 be the “year of privacy”? There are many reasons to think so. In the US, the Obama administration is planning to establish a committee or “czar” to oversee potential new internet privacy rules. Republicans and Democrats alike seem to be concerned about online tracking and privacy issues. The question would appear to be […]
Google says that it’s won a copyright infringement case in Spain over the uploading of copyrighted videos by YouTube users. Telecinco, a Spanish broadcast TV channel, had argued that YouTube is responsible when its users upload videos that infringed on the channel’s copyrights. According to Google’s blog post about the legal decision: The court rejected […]
EU Court Rules on Ad Keywords from the Wall Street Journal reports the the highest court in Europe upheld and confirmed a decision by a previous court that bidding on trademarked keywords in search engines does not infringe on European trademark law. This specific case was between Portakabin, a cabin maker and a competitor, Primakabin. […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google, Twitter Argue Against Throttling Speed Of News Google and Twitter have teamed up to support a web site that’s facing legal trouble for reporting news too quickly. Reuters reports that […]
European luxury goods maker LVMH (Luis Vuitton) sued Google in France over its AdWords policy allowing third parties, including LVMH competitors, to bid on its trademarked terms as keywords. The case originally arose when marketers bid on “Louis Vuitton” and turned out to be selling counterfeit Louis Vuitton items. The company won in France’s highest […]
In a letter earlier this month, members of the European Union’s data protection group urged Google to make changes to its Street View mapping/photo service and warned that Google might be breaking EU laws. According to Bloomberg News, the letter from the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party asks Google to store unblurred Street View […]
Three Google executives have been found guilty of criminal charges over a bullying video that appeared on the Google Video service. Google has responded with a blog post pledging to appeal the convictions and suggesting that they undermine “the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built.” The video involved a youth with […]
Microsoft is the first of the major search engines to agree to the European Union’s demand that data retention be cut to six months. The company will now completely delete IP addresses after six months. Here’s what Microsoft said on the Bing community blog about the move: Today we sent a letter to the Article […]
Last week, in a German magazine interview, government minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger suggested that Google was “becoming a giant monopoly.” She casually asserted that government action might be coming at some point if Google didn’t become more “transparent” and responsive to government concerns. Almost on cue a number of companies have filed diverse complaints with Germany’s […]
Google will probably be fighting legal battles in European courts and appearing before EU regulators for some time to come. For the time being Google has lost (at least for now) a copyright case in France arising from book scanning. According to Reuters: The court found against Google after the La Martiniere group, which controls […]
Google Can Sell Trademarked Keywords, EU Adviser Says from Bloomberg News reports the EU’s highest court has ruled Google can sell trademarked keywords in search ads. As we reported back in June 2008, Louis Vuitton sued Google over trademark issues with search ads and Google then appealed to this court. Google has won that appeal […]
Google reportedly made a number of concessions to European officials concerned about the European implications of the Google Books Search settlement deal. The company is fighting on both sides of the Atlantic to gain regulatory and judicial acceptance of the deal previously announced, which has been criticized by a number of self-interested parties and legal […]
Google has been ordered to pay a total of €350,000 ($454,000) for violating two companies’ trademarks by allowing other companies to bid on those marks in AdWords in France. Google is appealing. According to a report in The Register: When web users typed the trade marked terms ‘voyageur du monde’ and ‘terres aventure’ into Google […]
Bloomberg reports that Google has lost two related copyright cases in German courts. Both involved display of thumbnails in image search results. Google can appeal the rulings.
Even as Google is liberalizing its trademark policy in Europe to agree with the US policy, luxury goods maker Luis Vuitton may turn back the clock and force a more restrictive policy on Google. France’s highest court ruled for Louis Vuitton last year in a trademark case involving AdWords. Google has appealed. The European Court […]
Google, Yahoo Keep User Data Too Long, EU Group Says from Bloomberg reports that 27 EU nations privacy officials unanimously are supporting a new proposal that may require search companies to delete search data before six months. The proposal, Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, requires “valid justification” to store any search data, and says […]
Much of the discussion and debate in the U.S. over Google’s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick was about the impact of the deal on consumer privacy, even though that wasn’t technically part of the anti-trust analysis before the FTC. Accordingly, the FTC approved the acquisition with one commissioner dissenting largely on privacy grounds. Now, Pamela Jones […]
Consumer group hits at Google $3bn move from the Financial Times reports a large European consumers rights group, Beuc, has joined with others that oppose Google’s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick.
Google may be violating EU privacy laws on user search data from Bloomberg reports that the European Union has finally sent Google an expected letter raising concerns over Google’s data retention policies.