Tokyo court orders Google to delete search results that implied criminality

Though Google has been playing a vital role in our everyday lives, but it’s true that its advancement every day has also been garnering some negative effects and one of the most frequently discussed among them is the vulnerability this advancement in technology poses for privacy. Google Inc. was recently asked by Tokyo District Court to delete more than 100 search results which were clearly invading a man’s privacy by giving the impression he was involved in criminal activity. The man under discussion himself sought an injunction with the court in June 2014 and requested that some 237 Google search results to be deleted from the internet.

The results were implying that he is a criminal and this was affecting his personal life. Following this Google was ordered by presiding Judge Nobuyuki Seki to delete 122 of the results, including the “title” and the accompanying summary of the contents. The court agreed that some of the results were infringing the privacy of the man.

According to the ruling, “It is only natural that an obligation to delete (the search results) arises for Google, which manages the site.” Google had argued in return that technically it does not have an obligation to delete results as the provider of a search engine. However this argument was rejected by the court.

Tomohiro Kanda, the lawyer for the plaintiff, said that “This verdict is very good news for the many people who have suffered both physically and psychologically through an invasion of privacy over the Internet.”

source: ajw