Google Abides by European Ruling and Implements Changes to Searches

Google started erasing search results from its engine under Europe's new "right to be forgotten." This law gives individuals the right to request to remove the results that pop up in Internet searches for their own names.

The Google update occurred overnight and the company updated its technical infrastructure to begin accommodating for the removals. On Thursday, they sent out the first emails informing individuals.

For the removal, the company has hired a special team dedicated to evaluating each request, and only a small number of the requests have been processed. "This week, we're starting to take action on the removals requests that we've received," a Google spokesman said.

"This is a new process for us. Each request has to be assessed individually, and we're working as quickly as possible to get through the queue."

Google's swift action represents the first real application of Europe's "right to be forgotten".

A month ago, Google received more than 41,000 removal requests through a web form it set up in response to the ruling.

Some of the first links Google removed was related to a 1998 newspaper advertisement that mentioned a long-resolved deobt of Mario Costeja Gonzalez.

The notification people would receive would say-"Some results may have been removed under data protection law in Europe".

There are signs that Europe is not the only place that is looking to have Google implement the "right to be forgotten", and Hong Kong's top privacy regular, Allen Chiang Yam-wang, suggested Google implement it all over the world.

"It makes good customer service and business competitiveness sense for Google to demonstrate its privacy friendliness by pioneering a borderless service, regardless of the applicant's nationality and place of residence," he wrote.

Yahoo will also implement changes in Europe because of the ruling. "In light of the European Court of Justice decision, our team is currently in the process of developing a solution for Yahoo users in Europe that we believe balances the important privacy and freedom-of-expression interests," a Yahoo spokeswoman said.