Consumer Watchdog: Google's 'Failure' To Remove URLs From U.S. Search Results Violation of Section 5

Consumer Watchdog said in a complaint filed Tuesday with the FTC. Google has removed 348,794 URLs from its search results out of a requested 997,008, or 41.3 percent of links that were deemed inadequate, irrelevant no longer relevant or excessive, Consumer Watchdog said in a news release. Google’s “refusal” to consider such requests in the U.S. is unfair and deceptive, a violation of the FTC Act’s Section 5 authority, said Consumer Watchdog Privacy Project Director John Simpson. Google’s recent announcement that it would honor requests to remove links to revenge porn (see 1506190048) is proof Google could “easily honor Right To Be Forgotten requests in the U.S.,” Simpson said. “We urge the Commission to investigate and act,” he said. The right to be forgotten isn't censorship, because the content isn't removed from the Web, the complaint said. Before the Internet, youthful indiscretions and embarrassments “slipped from the general public’s consciousness,” the complaint said. “The Digital Age has ended that,” it said. “Everything -- all our digital footprints -- are instantly available with a few clicks on a computer or taps on a mobile device,” the complaint said. Examples of URLs that Consumer Watchdog said could be removed from search results in the U.S. include photos of a California woman who was decapitated in a car accident that were “wrongfully leaked by California Highway Patrol officers"; a mug shot photo of a woman who scratched her “violent” boyfriend’s chest as he came at her with a knife; photos of a woman who had worked as a lingerie model between the ages of 18-20 and lost her guidance counselor job after the photos surfaced, despite having previously disclosed her modeling career. In Europe, Google has removed URLs to newspaper articles about victims of rape and other crimes, the release said. Google has refused to remove some search results such as for a Swiss financial professional who was arrested and convicted for financial crimes or those who were dismissed from their jobs for committing sexual crimes, the release said. “Removal won’t always happen, but the balance Google appears to have found between privacy and the public’s right to know demonstrates Google can make the Right to Be Forgotten work in the United States,” the complaint said. “FTC investigations are non-public and we do not confirm or deny the existence of any investigations," an FTC spokesman told us. "We welcome complaints from consumers and consumer groups and review them carefully," he said. Google had no immediate comment.