Unsurprisingly, Google's attempts to keep up with thousands of European "right to be forgotten" requests has become something of a burden.
In a letter to the Article 29 Working Party, Google answered a lengthy questionnaire about the implementation of the "right to be forgotten" ruling, as the complications that come with it.
Since mid-May, search engines have been under strict orders from the European Commission to remove certain search results linked to someone's personal information, if requested and deemed appropriate.
Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo last week met with European data protection regulators in an effort to sort out the recent decision. It was during that July 24 meeting that the groups discussed the challenges of implementing the rules.
"Google has moved quickly to comply with the Court's ruling," wrote Peter Fleischer, Google's global privacy counsel, who pointed out that Google launched an online request form less than three weeks after the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its decision.
"Our approach will not be static. We know it will change over time as data protection authorities and courts issue guidance and as we all learn through experience," Fleischer wrote. "We also know some tough debates lie ahead."
The 13-page letter was penned in response to a group of European data regulators' request for search engines—including the newly compliant Bing—to explain how they are handling these "right to be forgotten" requests.
"When evaluating requests, we will look at whether the search results in question include outdated or irrelevant information about the data subject, as well as whether there's a public interest in the information," Google said.
The search giant will also evaluate specific information: the individual (are they a public figure?), the publisher of the information (reputable news source or government website), and the nature of the information available via the link (was it self published? Does it cover the subject's profession or a criminal conviction?).