Updated at 6:10 p.m. ET: Google has begun restoring links to newspaper articles that it had suppressed in Web searches this week following a European Union ruling in May on citizens' "right to be forgotten," the Financial Times reported. A series of links to articles in the Guardian newspaper that were suppressed were reinstated on Thursday after the news organization complained publicly about the removals, the newspaper said.
Original story: Google's removal of search results in Europe is drawing accusations of press censorship, as stories from some of the continent's most prominent news outlets begin vanishing. The U.S. internet giant said Thursday it is getting 1,000 requests a day to scrub results. Google must comply with a May ruling from the European Union's top court that enables citizens to ask for the removal of embarrassing personal information that pops up on a search of their names. Among links to vanish were stories on a soccer referee who resigned after a scandal in 2010, French office workers making post-it art, a couple having sex on a train and a lawyer facing a fraud trial. At least three British media, including the Guardian newspaper and public broadcaster BBC, said Google notified them search results in Europe would not contain some links to their publications.
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IN-DEPTH
- Forget.me Sees Rush to File 'Right to be Forgotten' Requests With Google
- Google 'Right To Be Forgotten' Ruling Unlikely to Repeat in U.S.
- UK news organizations criticize Google over implementation of new law (The Guardian)
SOCIAL
— The Associated Press and Reuters