The world's most used Internet search tool said on Wednesday
that the expansion of its removal policies globally followed growing demand
from users and evolving norms about the threat posed by easy access to contact
details.
"Research has told us there's a larger amount of
personally identifiable information that users consider as sensitive,"
Michelle Chang, global policy lead for Google search, said in an exclusive
interview. "They are increasingly unwilling to tolerate this content
online."
Until now, Google would only accept requests to remove
webpages that shared contact info alongside some sort of threat or required
payment for removal. It also has stripped links to bank account and credit card
numbers and medical records.
It received tens of thousands of requests annually in recent
years, approving about 13 percent of them. Chang said she expected the approval
rate to grow under the expanded rules, which also allow for removing links to
confidential log-in credentials.
You can now request removal of personal contact information like a phone number, email address, or physical address, as well as login info, from Google Search. Learn more: https://t.co/ZTFRtWlNKz
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) April 27, 2022
Older Google policies enable requesting takedowns of results
directing to unwanted pornography and, in Europe, "inaccurate, inadequate,
irrelevant or excessive" personal information. Last year, Google began
allowing removal of photos of minors.
Chang said in weighing requests under the contact
information policy, Google would aim to preserve availability of data in the
public interest. It also will not remove information that "appears as part
of the public record on the sites of government or official sources."
The company said it typically processes requests within a
few days.
Webpages Google drops can still be accessed through other
search engines or directly, and Chang said users are encouraged to contact
publishers to address "the root of the issue."
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