Search Engine Results, Privacy, and Censorship

Does a right to privacy necessarily lead to censorship on the web? On May 13, the European Court of Justice issued a decision stating that search engines like Google may have to remove search results if the data is deemed to violate an individual’s right to privacy. Critics have argued that this decision will likely infringe on the right to information and place unclear burdens on intermediaries to determine what information is no longer relevant to the public interest and should be removed from search results.

At a recent event, Laura Reed, research analyst for Freedom on the Net at Freedom House, and Darian Pavli, senior attorney for the Open Justice Initiative, discussed how this decision fits into the scope of recent court rulings and legislation regulating the internet and its broader implications for internet freedom.

Listen above.