Google’s latest Transparency Report includes information on the number of requests received and statistics on the decisions reached.
The EU’s right to be forgotten law has been in effect for three years. The latest figures from Google show it has received 2.4 million requests to delist URLs since 2014.
- 89% of the requests were made by private individuals
- The 11% ‘others’ include minors, corporate entities, government officials and politicians, and public figures
- 24% of the requests are to delist professional information; 10% want to delist self-authored content
- The four major types of websites mentioned in requests are directories, social media, news articles and government papers
The top five countries making requests:
- France (20%)
- Germany (17%)
- UK (13%)
- Spain (8%)
- Italy (8%)
In its Transparency Report, Google explains how decisions are reached:
In deciding what to delist, search engines like Google must consider if the information in question is "inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive"—and whether there is a public interest in the information remaining available in search results.
Over the last three years, Google has complied with 43% of the requests it has received.
Further reading: Google has also published a draft of a research paper called Three Years of the Right to be Forgotten.
Original source: Gizmodo.