BBC To Publish Article Links That Google Blocks

Request for privacy could backfire as spotlight shines on those who want their search engine listings removed

Those in Europe who have a ' right to be forgotten' by search engine giant Google Inc ( NASDAQ:GOOG) ( NASDAQ:GOOGL) and are seeking to be delisted from the search engine's vast network of links may soon get their wish with Google. The result, however, could be an increased spotlight on those who request such privacy.

The BBC recently announced that it will continually publish a list of those articles Google de-lists from its search engine results.

Google manipulating search results

In May, Google was reported to be privately 'seething' after a European Court of Justice ordered search engines to allow people to individually opt out of search engine results for privacy concerns. Google Inc has obliged the government's request, a BBC report said.

The goal of the program was to allow people to have greater privacy, which could prove elusive. When the BBC publishes lists of links that Google has disallowed, it could actually generate more interest than the original search queries.

While Google Inc ( NASDAQ:GOOG) ( NASDAQ:GOOGL) is complying with European law, there are serious concerns that information beneficial to the public interest is blocked from public view by the search restrictions.

As previously reported in ValueWalk, an article critical of a large bank executive for his role in the 2008 financial crisis was removed by Google, a cautious tale. In 2007 Peston penned an article on the BBC website titled ' Merrill's Mess,' a piece that explains how Merrill Lynch chief Stan O'Neal was pushed out of the investment bank after enduring significant losses on the back of what were called careless investments.

Google delete 'inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant' data from its results

Google, however, was just complying with the European Court of Justice that enabled anyone to apply and have search results relating to them deleted from Google under the new 'right to be forgotten' rule. The rule mandated that Google delete 'inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant' data from its results when a member of the public requests it.

'Most people would argue that it is highly relevant for the track record, good or bad, of a business leader to remain on the public record - especially someone widely seen as having played an important role in the worst financial crisis in living memory (Merrill went to the brink of collapse the following year, and was rescued by Bank of America),' Peston writes on a BBC blog. 'So there is an argument that in removing the blog, Google Inc ( NASDAQ:GOOG) ( NASDAQ:GOOGL) is confirming the fears of many in the industry that the 'right to be forgotten' will be abused to curb freedom of expression and to suppress legitimate journalism that is in the public interest.'

In announcing today's action, the BBC disclosed the case of a story about the Irish Republican Army (IRA) that was blocked at the request of those mentioned in the article who were convicted of crimes. 'It seems to us to be difficult to justify this in the public's interest,' BBC editorial policy head David Jordan was quoted as saying. He also was critical of the lack of a method to dispute listings being removed.