Welcome to Thunderdome

Point 1.

The E.U.’s Court of Justice, based in Luxembourg and roughly equivalent to the U.S. Supreme Court, embraced the concept in part; it ruled that even though a Spanish newspaper had the right to publish information online about the man’s tax problems, Google had no right to provide links to it if the man objected.

So you can sue Google for handing out links to things like this and not deleting them? Fuck ... what news could you post online, then? Ah, worry ye not. There's a loophole.

The ruling does recognize a different standard for public figures and for data that has scientific or historic value, but when it comes to information about ordinary private citizens, Internet companies often will have to remove links to personal information upon request...

Celebrities are still fair game because gossip websites have to make money, goddamnit.

it ruled that even though a Spanish newspaper had the right to publish information online about the man’s tax problems, Google had no right to provide links to it if the man objected.

...wut? Am I reading that right? Is that really as completely ass-backwards retarded as I think it is?

The information can be posted online and that's fine, but linking to where the information posted is illegal? How can linking to something already out there ever be illegal when the thing being out there isn't itself illegal? That's like arresting the guy that the bank robbers stopped to ask for directions to the bank from, but letting the bank robbers go.

“It definitely makes Europe a less favorable place for these companies to do business. . . . But that’s a balance these countries are allowed to make,”

If the EU is going to hold Google liable for the contents of every page they link to, Google's best move would be to shut down any offices in the EU and block all searches originating from an EU address. As should all the other search providers. No amount of money they could make off that market would offset the potential liability costs involved.

See how the EU likes not having access to any search engines, see if that changes their minds.



Edited By TPRJones on 1400100091