Google is scoffing at a request from the French Government to extend the right to be forgotten outside the confines of Continental Europe.
According to a report on SearchEngineJournal.com, the French Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), formally submitted the request back in June.
While Google officials grudgingly comply with the right to be forgotten on European search sites, they’re just not into extending that courtesy to a worldwide audience – which seemingly negates the “right” all together.
In an interview with Business Insider, a Google spokesman explained why the search giant isn’t budging on its Europe-only right to be forgotten stance saying that they’ve been:
…been working hard to strike the right balance in implementing the European Court’s ruling, co-operating closely with data protection authorities. The ruling focused on services directed to European users, and that’s the approach we are taking in complying with it.
In a case of strange bedfellows, a number of human rights activists, who normally don’t care much for Google’s acquiescence to totalitarian governments in places like China, actually supported Google’s stance. Privacy expert Peter Fleisher explained the situation saying:
If the CNIL’s proposed approach were to be embraced as the standard for Internet regulation, we would find ourselves in a race to the bottom. In the end, the Internet would only be as free as the world’s least free place.
While European regulators seem to have plenty of issues with Google and its privacy policies, their citizens don’t seem to exactly share their views. Google currently boasts an incredible 91% market share on the Continent.