June 1, 2014: Google world’s leading search engine started offering the new “Right to be forgotten” service on Friday and by Saturday according to a company spokesman in Germany, the company received more than 12,000 requests from people. These figures which were reported by the media were estimated by German Daily Der Spiegel. This service initially introduced in Europe allows a user to avail “forgotten” service by filling an online form for removal of results on them from Internet searches. Google introduced this service after a European Court of Justice in May ruled that individuals have the right to get online search results about themselves deleted if the data is outdated or inaccurate.
Google which has launched the service on an experiment basis is non committal about how much time it would take for the links to disappear but said that it would take utmost care in processing each request. The court had to intervene when there was a huge public cry over the ability of an individual to manage personal data and their reputations online in a wired society. Though no official word is given by Google on when they will be expanding this service to other places in the world, it is for sure that this service will have its own share of controversies and will see the internet giant grappling with all sorts of issues. The issues will be more complex if the requests go on increasing and if the trails do not disappear in a stipulated time.
