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EU Approves Strict New Privacy Rules

An anonymous reader writes: The EU just approved a new set of strict rules governing privacy and data protection, which include a right to be forgotten and to "clear and affirmative consent" for any processing of private data, as well as the right to know when data has been compromised. Culminating more than four years of work, "The reform will replace the current data protection directive, dating back to 1995 when the internet was still in its infancy," the EU said in a statement, "with a general regulation designed to give citizens more control over their own private information in a digitized world of smartphones, social media, internet banking and global transfers." If the rules are broken, the new EU privacy policy includes hefty fines of up to 4% of a firm's total worldwide annual turnover.

132 comments

  1. stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The right to be forgotten is such BS.
    I say this as a European.
    Why does some murderer have the right to be forgotten?
    Do we have to delete all records of their crime from the internet?
    Completely retarded.
    Things like this make me wish freenet wasn't just some hub for perverts to share CP, but was actually used by normal people to circumvent this shit.

    1. Re: stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It has nothing to do with citizens or criminals. The law passes because politicians want to remove all of their wrongs, misdeeds, and facts the politicians do not want the citizens to know about.

      You know the Great Firewall right? Same thing but on a global scale.

    2. Re:stupid by buchner.johannes · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why does some murderer have the right to be forgotten?

      Murder cases make it on the internet because the press is reporting about it -- usually because someone has been accused.
      If you had been accused of a outrageous crime and later found innocent, you will have your name associated with those news stories forever. Every time an employer googles you, they will get that impression, and you will spend the rest of your life arguing that charges were dismissed.
      For those people I think a right to be forgotten is appropriate.

      --
      NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
    3. Re:stupid by LihTox · · Score: 2

      OK, so OJ Simpson was found not guilty of murdering his wife. If he asked for the record to be expunged, does that mean I can't blog about it? Tell jokes about white Broncos online? Does this Slashdot post become illegal?

      Can Adnan Sayed wipe out the first season of Serial if his case is reviewed and he's found innocent?

      And the statute says that the data can be retained "for historical, statistical and scientific purposes, for public health reasons or to exercise the right to freedom of expression." But that seems entirely too subjective for my tastes. We already have the overzealous copyright vultures shutting down parts of the Internet; now we have this?

      It all comes down to how it is enforced.

    4. Re:stupid by Computershack · · Score: 2

      The right to be forgotten is such BS. I say this as a European. Why does some murderer have the right to be forgotten?

      And in that one sentence you've demonstrated you don't have a fucking clue what you're talking about. Its not designed to enable that. Its designed to enable you to remove things like posts of stupid shit you did when you were a kid.

      --
      I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
    5. Re: stupid by Computershack · · Score: 1

      I see why you posted as Anon because you clearly haven't done even basic research about the law.

      --
      I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
    6. Re:stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The right to be forgotten is such BS.
      I say this as a European.

      No.. More like an IDIOT!

      Why does some murderer have the right to be forgotten?

      Why do you think they do?

      Do we have to delete all records of their crime from the internet?

      No. None of them in fact.

      Completely retarded.

      Oh.I don't know.. You seem to be able to type a bit.

      Things like this make me wish freenet wasn't just some hub for perverts to share CP, but was actually used by normal people to circumvent this shit.

      And you think normal people would want you there?

    7. Re:stupid by afranke · · Score: 1

      And posting as AC is your way to not have your name forever associated with your stupid comment?

    8. Re:stupid by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      OK, so OJ Simpson was found not guilty of murdering his wife. If he asked for the record to be expunged, does that mean I can't blog about it? Tell jokes about white Broncos online? Does this Slashdot post become illegal?

      No, I don't know what that means, and no.

      Simpson is a celebrity and the case was widely publicised, so a court wouldn't allow his request. It wouldn't make much sense.

      For the sake of argument, let's say some random person was accused of murder and found innocent. Not a celebrity, not standing for election etc, just some ordinary person. They request the right to be forgotten by Google. You can blog about it as much as you like, it's just that Google isn't allowed to provide a link to your blog if someone types in the name of the person who made the request. For other searches, they can still link to your site.

      If that person requests that your blog forget them, the request can be denied. It doesn't apply to journalists writing articles or individuals writing blogs, it only applies to companies that provide services for researching people like Google does.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    9. Re:stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a backdoor for arbitrary censorship. Every scandal is associated with a person who has a right for it to be forgotten. In the same vein: whistleblowers are not only spies and traitors (where the enemy they work for is apparently the people), there's also a new trade secrets law against them.

  2. Will it stop IoT devices from watching me pee? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Will these rules stop IoT devices from watching me while I urinate and defecate?

    Because it's clear now that that's what's going to matter in 5 or 10 years. If the rules don't prevent such things now, then these rules will be outdated really quickly.

    1. Re:Will it stop IoT devices from watching me pee? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No but it won't matter. In 10 years you will have abandoned all pretense of modesty. In a world where every thing is watching everyone pee, no one will care to look anymore.

    2. Re:Will it stop IoT devices from watching me pee? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      No but it won't matter. In 10 years you will have abandoned all pretense of modesty. In a world where every thing is watching everyone pee, no one will care to look anymore.

      Algorithms will bring the most entertaining to the surface for all to laugh at.

    3. Re:Will it stop IoT devices from watching me pee? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Will these rules stop IoT devices from watching me while I urinate and defecate?

      Because it's clear now that that's what's going to matter in 5 or 10 years. If the rules don't prevent such things now, then these rules will be outdated really quickly.

      In the minds of many photographers and members of the press, there is no right to privacy in public places, no matter what your expectations might be.

      So if you step behind a tree to urinate in a public forest - a public place by definitions - they have a right to record that.

      The expectation of privacy, including privacy by anonymity in a crowd, should govern expect when law-breaking is involved. Any rational society would have reached that conclusion long ago.

  3. Right to be forgotten? by Cytotoxic · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This notion that you have a right to be forgotten is beyond parody. The idea that I have to scrub my notes of all mention of your foibles defies logic. If you were convicted of arson in 2015, what on earth makes anyone think that other people are obligated to hide that fact? And how exactly does the passage of time magically imbue facts with liability? In 2020 it will still be relevant and OK to have in the newspaper, but in 2030 it is magically verboten?

    I realize that this is motivated by politicians who don't want accounts of their youthful indiscretions publicly available, but the fact that there seems to be broad support for this law is kinda scary. Freedom of speech is a pretty basic and important right. Any law requiring censorship should be well beyond the boundary of public discourse, let alone actually being implemented as law.

    I recognize that Europe has a different history with speech and censorship and citizens rights, but c'mon folks, can't we stand up for the right to speak the truth in public?

    1. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It is scary if you believe the right to free speech trumps all else. The question is whether that right is morally sustainable in a world where it can have everlasting repercussions on individuals in a way they can't control. Until recently we weren't really living in that world and these situations didn't exist except in a few contrived cases.

    2. Re:Right to be forgotten? by freakingme · · Score: 1

      You're leaving out some of the considerations that are at play here. That is that you have a right to learn from your mistakes, move on. Also, they're not prohibiting publishing those facts, the intention is merely to make it less easily findable. The USA has a similar mechanism, namely sealed court records, etc.

    3. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Let's hope you're not falsely accused of anything then. Rape, child molestation, murder, sexism, racism, the list goes on.

      If any of these charges makes a headline, even it it's reported in a blog, it'll be one of the top results in google. Do you really think a potential employer is going to do some serious digging to find the actual truth once they see "abc drugged and raped xyz"? No way they'll move to the next just-as-qualified person.
      Likewise if you're falsely accused of something to do with children, you move into a new neighborhood and one of the mothers googles your name and "xyz touched my child" comes up...you'll be fucking lynched. No ifs, buts or maybes.

      Even if you DID commit a crime, PRISON is the punishment. Once you leave prison you have served your sentence and atoned for your sins.
      Having that conviction follow you throughout your entire life simply by someone googling your name could ruin chances of employment, housing, friends, significant others and maybe lead to a further life of crime.

      If public details of somebodies life are no longer relevant, eg time served, accusation repealed etc, then they shouldn't show up for the world to see, especially without context as i highly doubt many newspaper or blog articles are updated once the accused was found not guilty.

    4. Re:Right to be forgotten? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'm amazed people still don't understand what this right is, considering how often it's been explained right here on Slashdot.

      The right applies to companies that hold your data, and only when there is no overriding reason for them to keep it. So you can't ask your bank to forget your debt, or a newspaper to delete old editions that mention you.

      You can ask Facebook to completely delete your profile instead of just marking it as dormant. It means you can expect credit agencies to not report your bankruptcy from 20 years ago because society says you did your time even if they think otherwise. And yes, it means companies that let others research you have a similar obligation.

      Freedom of speech is unaffected, only commercial services. Corporations are not people and don't have the same rights in the EU, and privacy is considered a human right.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    5. Re:Right to be forgotten? by JoshuaZ · · Score: 1

      Your basic point is valid. I'm against a right to be forgotten but you are correct that this sort of thing can help people move on from their mistakes and that is a legitimate argument in favor of it. However, comparing it to sealed court records is completely off. Sealed court records are legal documents in the government's hands which are not being released. That's very different than saying that private citizens cannot report on public information that was literally in newspapers a few years ago. The comparison just doesn't work.

    6. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I haven't read the exact rules, so FWIW: you're right that you can't force a search engine company to keep track of everyone on the "forget" list to filter them out of all results; however, it is reasonable that organizations should not be able to share data they have collected from/about me without my permission. It also makes sense that if I decide to stop doing business with XYZ Corp, I should be able to tell them, once our accounts are settled, delete all information about me.

      It's not black/white: there is room for a lot more privacy before we get to the land of nonsense.

    7. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would someone please mod this up?

    8. Re:Right to be forgotten? by guises · · Score: 2

      This notion that you have a right to be forgotten is beyond parody.

      The notion is certainly not a parody, the point of the law is that imperfect data storage and retrieval, i.e.: the old way of doing things, is preferable when it comes to issues of a personal nature. It's implementation that's difficult, though I don't think it's nearly as much of an insurmountable challenge as some people here suggest.

      Just one approach: news organizations attach an expiration date to each article and they get archived when the date expires. Search engines read that date and remove search results at the appropriate time. That's 90% of the problem solved, right there. There's always going to be some wanker who thinks he's "fighting the good fight" by rehosting an embarrassing drunken photo that someone posted when they were a teenager, but that person can be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Most of the time, he can just be ignored.

      I am delighted to see that there's someone out there who still cares about privacy, and who hasn't been bought off by the data aggregators or cowed by overreaching law enforcement... yet. There may be a few flaws in the law, but I'm glad that it exists.

    9. Re: Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Get a name change then. Problem solved.

    10. Re: Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is already a mechanism to handle this: libel and slander laws.

      If someone is claiming you are a criminal with no basis, you can sue them under existing laws.

      If there is a basis for the accusations, well, then that is why we have freedom of speech.

    11. Re: Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your notes no, but if you publish them on a public ally accessible forum then your notes become part of the public domain and therefore yes, my right to privacy trumps your right to be lazy, right to be an asshole, and your supposed right to free speech.

    12. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since you are saying this only applies to commercial services, a non-profit entity would still be able to run an unfiltered search engine, correct? Sounds like a job for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

    13. Re:Right to be forgotten? by moronoxyd · · Score: 1

      Commercial is not the same as for profit.

    14. Re: Right to be forgotten? by Fwipp · · Score: 2

      It's not libel to say "Joe Smith was arrested on January 1st under suspicion of aiding a child porn distribution ring." But it's sure not something you want coming up on Google.

    15. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      American in U.S. here.

      I don't like this. It doesn't feel right. I don't think search engines should be compelled to delink results. While it may feel nice for some to compel search engines to delink something, the information is still available on certain websites. And don't those websites have a right to post that (freedom of speech)?

      But that's not the problem. The real problem is when employers, financial institutions, etc. start using information they shouldn't. What if we simply make it illegal for potential employers to use social media websites, etc. to make hiring decisions? Same for other things.

    16. Re:Right to be forgotten? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Only what you do has repercussions, not what you say. The freedom to verbally offend is sacrosanct.

      Sticks and stones, baby!

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    17. Re:Right to be forgotten? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Do you really think a potential employer is going to do some serious digging to find the actual truth once they see "abc drugged and raped xyz"? No way they'll move to the next just-as-qualified person.

      And that is what precisely makes him the problem. He is too lazy to dig? Screw him, and sue him every way till Sunday

      Censorship is always evil. The leader isn't the problem, the followers are.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    18. Re: Right to be forgotten? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      But you sure as hell don't have any right to prohibit it from coming up on Google. I'll filter my own searches thank you.

      Personally, I'm hoping for more widespread circumvention of the whole issue.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    19. Re:Right to be forgotten? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's worth adding that in the EU less serious crimes are considered "spent" after some time (or age 18 if committed as a child). After that point they don't have to be reported to potential employers. They can still show up on enhanced checks for sensitive jobs (state secrets, working with children etc.)

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    20. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Your whole argument is predicated on the existence of freedom of speech, which Europeans (proudly) don't have. You'll never see eye to eye with them because they like censorship and want more of it.

    21. Re:Right to be forgotten? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      More accurately, it's any organization covered by Data Protection laws.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    22. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Cytotoxic · · Score: 2

      None of the "Right to be forgotten" movement is about false accusations. It is about true statements that are reported somewhere on the web, and about blocking search engines from being able to report the results.

      It is odd that we live in a time where people are perfectly happy to prohibit a private citizen from accurately reporting the location of a news article while simultaneously ratcheting up government lists of shame like sex offender registries and "john lists". It is truly a bizarre juxtaposition to have people simultaneously clamoring for ever more restrictions on "sex offenders" (which includes a lot of things that most folks wouldn't agree are dangerous or sex-offender-ish) and lifetime public registries at the same time that we have governments coming after people for pointing to a newspaper article from 10 years back that talks about some would-be politician's divorce.

      The harms that you discuss are much more related to government action than they are to search engine technology. But it is the search engines that must be restricted. Meanwhile, if you happen to live in Miami-Dade county and were caught having sex with your high school girlfriend the government can place you on the offender registry for life and literally force you to live in a tent under an interstate overpass. Even if the young lady is now your wife. (they have rules about how close offenders can live to parks, schools, malls, etc. the only place in the entire county registered offenders can live is under a couple of overpasses. So if you happen to be on probation for your offence and can't leave the county, you have to live the life of a homeless guy.)

      So while I agree with your sentiment - both about the falsely accused and the guilty - I'd say the government "scarlet letter" is much more problematic than having some newspaper articles hanging out there. Besides, any prospective employer is going to do a professional background check, rather than just a simple google search. In which case all that old stuff is going to show up anyway.

      Which doesn't mean it wouldn't suck times ten to be falsely accused of something, particularly something prurient and involving kids. No amount of "right to forget" is going to remove that stain.

    23. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Cytotoxic · · Score: 1

      Google doesn't hold your data. Well, they do, but not in a way that is relevant to this topic. They are being told that they cannot return results for "AmiMoJo" about the big lawsuit settlement against British Petroleum if you've applied to have it forgotten, even if the article is still online at the NY Times or the London Times. That just makes no sense to me at all.

      There's nothing "private" about public records. Nor is there anything "privacy" related about saying "hey, they published an article about AmiMoJo" in the Times!". These are very public things. And sure, there are thousands of scenarios where it would be desirable to have embarrassing facts hidden. But this law isn't about private facts remaining private. It is about public facts becoming private, but only in a bizarre, half-measure way. It seems to be entirely designed to facilitate lawsuits against big corporations. The Times of London doesn't have to take down their article, but Bing is not allowed to index it for your name. But they are allowed to index it for British Petroleum and lawsuit and Slashdot User. The courts will still have all of the public records about the case, and they'll still be available to anyone. But Yahoo will have to pretend they don't exist. But only for your name. Not for the other relevant parties. Super-bizarre.

      And claiming that there is a difference if I tell you that the Times published an article because you asked and I just felt like telling you --- and telling you the same thing because you asked and Whole Foods promised to pay me a dime if I mentioned that they have avocados on sale while I tell you is just..... well, weird. By my way of thinking you either have the right to speak freely or you don't. Prying into the motivations of the speaker before determining his right to speak sounds dangerous. Motivations might be useful for determining trustworthiness, but they really shouldn't have even the slightest impact on your rights.

    24. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Freedom of speech is unaffected, only commercial services.

      You can't be serious. The commercial service called Google is now part of the basic infrastructure of the web. Search engines are vital for an individual's free speech to be accessible. What is freedom of speech worth if there's a law that prevents you from having an audience? This is nothing but censorship. It's a memory hole.

    25. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just one approach: news organizations attach an expiration date to each article and they get archived when the date expires. Search engines read that date and remove search results at the appropriate time. That's 90% of the problem solved, right there.

      Next step: shut down libraries and public archives. Burn all books that are past their expiration date. Make it illegal to possess them.

    26. Re:Right to be forgotten? by dave420 · · Score: 1

      You should read what these rules cover instead of arguing against your own impression of what they cover. You might learn something, and not make a fool of yourself in the process.

    27. Re:Right to be forgotten? by dave420 · · Score: 1

      Your first statement is demonstrably false, so why should anyone continue reading? You clearly don't understand this, yet somehow believe you do. Puzzling.

    28. Re:Right to be forgotten? by dave420 · · Score: 1

      Are you proud of being so misinformed? Is this some sort of badge of honour? It's truly awe-inspiring watching you tilt against the windmills of your own creation, fighting a righteous battle in your own head, with the only casualty being your own reputation.

    29. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      You can't sue every company that doesn't hire you because you suspect they might possible not have done sufficiently accurate fact-checking.

      When a company sees an applicant like that they go to the bottom of the stack. If someone else is hired the company doesn't tell the alleged rapist "sorry, we didn't hire you because Google says you're a rapist", they simply tell them that someone else got the job. But that someone else could've gotten the job because of superior hard or soft skills or because they simply clicked with the team.

      Also note that less reputable media outlets are quick to condemn people but very rarely retract anything. If $TABLOID puts your picture online accompanied by a text like "Is this the tattooed monster who raped and killed the little Jenny (9)?" and someone uses that picture and Facebook to identify you - do you think you will ever see $TABLOID or a blogger post "Sorry guys, fustakrakich is innocent" even if you are? If you're innocent you are simply not mentioned anymore while they focus on the real culprit - but the posts linking you to child rape remain online forever.


      Of course all of this ties in with how various people see justice. American criminal justice revolves around punishing the culprit, which leads to PMITA prisons and the like. European crominal justice is usually built around making the culprit into a productive member society again, which leads to things like Norwegian luxury prisons. Of course Europe would come up with a way of scrubbing your permanent record of your past sins; not doing so would make it harder for you to live a normal life.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    30. Re:Right to be forgotten? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Sorry, you can only prosecute for action, never speech. The actor is the sole guilty party, no matter what he claims as motivation, whether it's tabloid hearsay or anything else. Censorship still remains the prime evil. Its only purpose is expediency and for the protection of powerful people and institutions. We need to kill off the whole discussion by making censorship impossible with decentralized, P2P type services. That would be the end of the problem and we can move on.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    31. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This comment is not a troll comment. It is accurate that Europeans proudly limit speech, holocaust denial for example.

    32. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slashdot hasn't implemented Euro-style censorship, yet, so downmodding is the only effective way to make sure that criticism or other unfavorable views are properly suppressed.

    33. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      European in Europe here.

      Well, your own government and the RIAA mafia beat the path for this with the DMCA.
      You don't think Google et al actually checks those uncountable millions of DMCA takedown requsts they get, do you ?

      And as a european I frankly find your so called "Third Party Doctrine" to be a crime against humanity.

      Data on individuals and their actions collected for one purpose and by one entity should not be used for another unrelated purpose.
      And under no circumstances should such data be sold.

      Guess we'll have to disagree

    34. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Cytotoxic · · Score: 1

      The very first case brought under "right to be forgotten" was about a forced sale of a house - i.e. a foreclosure auction announcement. Since the guy had never done anything else of note, it was the first thing that popped up on Google. He argued that it was no longer relevant and shouldn't be available on the internet. This is what "right to be forgotten" means.

      False accusations fall under the category of libel and are handled completely differently. As far as I know there is no "this ain't true" category for "right to be forgotten" takedown notices. Just relevance and time. Strangely, a false accusation that falls outside of libel might manage to skirt the "forgotten" criteria as well. If, for example, you had been falsely but credibly accused of something and had successfully fought that accusation in court, the results might never become "irrelevant" through the passage of time.

      Such is the fate of Mario Costeja González, the guy who filed the first ever lawsuit on the topic. He won the right to be forgotten, but his forced sale will never be forgotten now.

      If this was about stuff that ain't true, they'd have a whole different set of criteria and arguments on their hands. Sure, you could have erroneous stuff flushed down the google memory hole as well, but the truth of the information really doesn't figure prominently in the decision tree.

    35. Re:Right to be forgotten? by Cytotoxic · · Score: 1

      There are lots of things covered in the new regs. But the argument is over the "right to be forgotten" and particularly it's application to search engines.

      From the EU themselves:

      The respective legal grounds of original publishers and search engines are different. The
      search engine should carry out the assessment of the different elements (public interest, public
      relevance, nature of the data, actual relevance)
      on the basis of its own legal ground, which
      derives from its own economic interest and that of the users to have access to the information
      via the search engines and using a name as terms of search. Even when (continued)
      publication by the original publishers is lawful, the universal diffusion and accessibility of
      that information by a search engine, together with other data related to the same individual,
      can be unlawful due to the disproportionate impact on privacy.

      There's lots of things in the regulations that are not controversial. Others that are controversial, but on matters of policy and contract law. "Right to be forgotten" as described above says that you can write an article about Commander Taco's hot tub, but if he doesn't like folks knowing about it he can prohibit me from pointing folks to that article (should I have a search engine). This bit is a fundamental free speech issue. "No it isn't" isn't an argument. It's simple contradiction.

    36. Re: Right to be forgotten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wtf are you talking about. The only scary thing is your willingness to be a censor of what can or can't be said.

      What's scarier is this fairy godmother crap that a person who has served their sentence should have the right to be forgotten.

      Try doing some research on anti social personality disorders. Pay attention to the fact that many, if no most, psychopaths don't commit violent crimes. That doesn't alter the fact that they are basically incurable predators skilled at manipulation and will undoubtedly use this law to expand their horizons.

      And you will continue to tell me I don't have the right to know what they're done? Why? For what they have done in the past they will almost assuredly do in the future. Just because your cops haven't caught them only indicates how clever and manipulative they are.

      I understand there are wrongly accused people. I know those weren't witches being burned.

      WHAT you don't seem to understand is that these rules will make it damn hard to find out who the hell did the burning and why. P

  4. Insanely complex by lseltzer · · Score: 2

    I've read a lot of this regulation and I think it's probably impossible to comply with. It's also very light on technical guidance for compliance. There are only a few passing mentions of encryption and nothing at all about particular standards. In other words, there is no specific requirement to encrypt data in transit or at rest, but rather a vague suggestion that encryption in general might be a good idea. On the other hand, with respect the right to be forgotten, which is really a right to request erasure, it's unclear whether deleting keys to encrypted data constitutes erasure. It could be read to require actually writing over all the copies of the bits.

    1. Re:Insanely complex by freakingme · · Score: 2

      If this law is to be in place for the next 20+ years it'd be pretty moronic if it laid out a very detailed set of technical measures a party is expected to take. Luckily there's lawyers who can interpet the law, and apply it to the situation they're assessing, all of its context included. If other lawyers (i.e. prosecution) disagree with their views, we have judges who can elaborate on the law, and tell how it should be interpreted in situations like those.

    2. Re:Insanely complex by lseltzer · · Score: 2

      Laws tend to get more complex over time, not less. I get the clear idea from the text that the authors would like to be able to hit up companies for fines at will, and this law will allow them to do it.

    3. Re:Insanely complex by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      The existing rules say that companies must protect personal data, and it's up to regulators and courts to decide exactly what that means. That's a good solution because as technology changes and the minimum protection you would expect changes companies are expected to keep up.

      For example, DES used to be fine, but now you would expect AES. Before two factor authentication was popular and free it wasn't really expected, now it's pretty much essential for any serious application.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:Insanely complex by freakingme · · Score: 1

      They won't. In the EU (not sure about other regions/countries), a judge (if a fine is contested) is to hold a pretty high bar when it comes to fines or penalties. There must be no doubt that the party is in breach before the fine can be validated.

  5. Double standard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    These rules will apply to any firms that handle the data of EU residents, regardless of whether the firms have any presence in the EU or not. That is the EU forcing its laws on the rest of the world. Why is there tremendous negative backlash when the US attempts to impose its laws on other countries but the EU gets a free pass when they do the same thing. It sure seems like a double standard to me.

    1. Re:Double standard by moronoxyd · · Score: 2

      These laws apply to companies that do business in the EU or with EU residents. If you do business in a different country, you have to follow that countries laws.
      There's nothing strange about this.

      The difference is that the EU doesn't try to impose its laws on other countries. Just on companies that do business within the EU. (And only for the data related to these transactions. As far as I know the laws don't affect what Facebook and Google do with the data they collect from US residents.)

    2. Re:Double standard by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      The backlash against the US happens when a company in country A does business with an individual in country B and the US decides that its laws should apply (e.g. enforcement of US patents). No one objects when the US decides that companies trading in the USA have to obey US laws, any more than they object when the US insists that people living in the USA have to obey US laws.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    3. Re:Double standard by Computershack · · Score: 2

      These rules will apply to any firms that handle the data of EU residents, regardless of whether the firms have any presence in the EU or not. That is the EU forcing its laws on the rest of the world. Why is there tremendous negative backlash when the US attempts to impose its laws on other countries but the EU gets a free pass when they do the same thing. It sure seems like a double standard to me.

      The USA tried to extradite Richard O'Dwyer from the UK because of a website he ran which was illegal under US law but perfectly legal under UK law. So when it comes to countries trying to force their laws on the rest of the world the USA is right up there leading the way.

      --
      I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
  6. Too bad it won't really work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Once leaked, always leaked. And that's just one of the annoying little things harsh reality throws at the fingerwagging approach. Some things just don't cannot actually be fixed by a bigger brother Setting The Rules, Yo. Privacy is one of them. And that's well before we get into the teensy little detail that the EU is well on its way to be the biggest privacy hater of all, with random governments a close second. Rules are just for the rest of us, eh.

  7. Exceptionalism backlash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The US has been a bit longer at it, a bit blunter too. Don't worry, the EU have their own problems, ones they'll need to deal with or they'll cease to be a thing soonish. At the same time the US don't get to whine they're held to a double standard when that's what they've been doing for ages themselves, wholesale.

    Examples? Oh please. Here, just one: The ICC. Prime United States "we don't play well with others" of America, "FUCK YEAH!" material right there.

  8. The Nest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    because from the nest we not only feel safe, we are safe. The nest protects us. The nest nourishes us. The nest loves us. We love the nest. Wouldn't you like to be in the nest, too!

  9. Subject to User Agreement and Other Exceptions,. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Terms and Conditions Apply.

  10. nature of politics in misdirection by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    this move is so populistic, who exactly is trying to save face? was the panama that much of a big deal?

  11. Right to be forgotten - subcases by isj · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I checked a subset of the leaked list from BBC last year of articles they had to remove. From those samples I could see three categories:

    1: victims. Eg sexual assault victims mentioned by name. It seems OK to me that they get their name removed so that in 20 years their granchildren don't get that search result.
    2: a small category of criminals wanting to have their names removed. Which mostly seems OK to me as most countries have a limit to how long such information is publicly available. Eg. I think where I live burglaries are removed after 8 years
    3: a wtf category. Two examples: One neo-nazi wanted his name removed from an article about a white power demonstration.. His names is pretty unique so I checked - he is still sputing such nonsense on facebook and twitter, so I don't see why he wanted it removed. The other example is a man in an article about how his one testicle suddenly grew and he immediately went to the doctor. It turned out it wasn't testicular cancer but a benign internal boil. I think it is a positive story about cancer awareness, but I can see why he may not want that to be the first result when someone searches his name.

    So basically I agree with the right to be forgotten. When information is no longer in the public interest it should be possible to get the names removed.

  12. They don't... by denzacar · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.europarl.europa.eu/...

    The new rules will give individuals greater control over their personal data in the following ways.
    The right to be forgotten (Article 17)

    Any person will have the right to be âoeforgottenâ/have his or her personal data erased when he or shel no longer wants the data to be processed, provided there are no legitimate reasons for retaining it.

    To enforce this right, if a person asks an internet company to erase his/her data, the company should also forward the request to any others that replicate the data.
    However, this right would be restricted in some cases, for instance when the data is needed for historical, statistical and scientific purposes, for public health reasons or to exercise the right to freedom of expression.
    Also, the right to be forgotten would not apply when the retention of personal data is necessary to fulfil a contract or is required by law.

    Purpose of this is to ensure that Facebook, Google and various government and other agencies can't use or sell your private data if you don't want them to.
    Not for convicted murderers to be able to erase their past from the internet.
    Freedom of speech still applies and still includes news articles about murder.
    Just as the laws pertaining to government archives about the case still apply.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    1. Re:They don't... by ooloorie · · Score: 0, Troll

      Purpose of this is to ensure that Facebook, Google and various government and other agencies can't use or sell your private data if you don't want them to.

      Yeah, "stick it to big US companies" is very popular, with European corporations and press, who then go out to lobby European politicians and bamboozle European voters. Also, government agencies are usually exempt from this.

      Not for convicted murderers to be able to erase their past from the internet.

      Except, of course, that this is what it has been used for in the past.

      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens

      True. Just look in the mirror.

    2. Re:They don't... by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Except, of course, that this is what it has been used for in the past

      Which is quite understandable in some forms since people generally have a right to be rehabilitated.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    3. Re:They don't... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think there is a difference between the right to account deletion, and the right to be forgotten.
      I seem to remember the right to be forgotten being used to make google remove links to websites in their search results.
      This has nothing to do with account information or anything.
      This is removing links to stories about for instance some doctor who fucked up 50 operations and he would rather people forget that.
      I'm not seeing it.

    4. Re:They don't... by ooloorie · · Score: 0

      Which is quite understandable in some forms since people generally have a right to be rehabilitated.

      "Rehabilitation" means that we attempt to change the minds and behavior of criminals, not that criminals have any new rights, least of all to have their crimes erased from the public record. The latter is an absurd perversion of the concept of rehabilitation.

    5. Re:They don't... by Zumbs · · Score: 1

      Up until recently it took a lot of work for a regular civilian to determine if Alice Bobson had a criminal record, even if it had been in the newspapers a decade prior. With pretty much everything ending up on the indexed and conveniently searchable internet, it is much easier to stalk people, placing some people in a perpetual pillory. This makes rehabilitation difficult as the convicted criminal who has paid his or her debt to society will find it increasingly difficult to start a fresh life. In some cases, I think it is reasonable to view this as an unjust and unreasonable punishment.

      --
      The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head
    6. Re:They don't... by Kjella · · Score: 1

      The theory is nice. But what kind of effort will companies make to fact check, hear the other side of the story and make an impartial judgement? It's one thing if you want the BBC to take down an article they wrote because it's supposed to be a fact-checked objectively written and newsworthy story in the first place. However if Google gets a complaint about a YouTube video the default is always going to lean heavily towards removing it and hoping the case goes away, because every complaint, review, appeal and possibly law suit costs money.

      There's a saying that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, what's to keep people from simply whining their way into having unfavorable posts removed? And I think it actually gets worse the less resources you have, if you're just doing something as a non-profit and this becomes another unwanted, unpaid administration task those complaints will be rubber stamped through. Maybe a few slashdotters can manage to keep it online by self-hosting but after being shitcanned by all the major search engines it's practically as good as erased anyway. Sure, the original article will still be on display in the national archives for "historical, statistical and scientific" purposes...

      "But the plans were on display..."
      "On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them."
      "That's the display department."
      "With a flashlight."
      "Ah, well, the lights had probably gone."
      "So had the stairs."
      "But look, you found the notice, didn't you?"
      "Yes," said Arthur, "yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'."

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    7. Re:They don't... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Informative

      Correction. Murders have tried to use it, but details of their serious crimes aren't covered by this right so they failed.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    8. Re:They don't... by ooloorie · · Score: 1

      Correction. Murders have tried to use it, but details of their serious crimes aren't covered by this right so they failed.

      Murderers have failed to enforce the "right to be forgotten" against German Wikipedia and media outlets, but they seem to have succeeded in enforcing it against search engines. The latter didn't even require a court case, because it is the intended function of the "right to be forgotten" laws.

      Furthermore, given the steep penalties for corporations, this law has a chilling effect that will cause any big company to censor speech in order to avoid the risk of massive losses.

    9. Re:They don't... by ooloorie · · Score: 1

      placing some people in a perpetual pillory. This makes rehabilitation difficult as the convicted criminal who has paid his or her debt to society will find it increasingly difficult to start a fresh life

      Again, you are confusing "rehabilitation" with "fresh start". If you murdered someone, "rehabilitation" means that you convince society that you aren't going to do it again and therefore can be let free; it doesn't mean that society owes you anything, let alone a "fresh start".

      In any case, European governments were concerned with giving a "fresh start", they could simply make it easy for people to change their name and identity. So, that argument doesn't work.

      In some cases, I think it is reasonable to view this as an unjust and unreasonable punishment.

      People talking and writing about someone's crime isn't a "punishment", it's a right that everybody in a free society has. The fact that this inconveniences former murderers is no justification for restricting the freedom of speech of others.

    10. Re:They don't... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not really disaggreeing about the problems with this, but all those formerly insurmountable obstacles were demolished by the DMCA.

      And given the kind of pressure the US has applied to force that obscenity on the rest of the world, there's very little sympathy for any US company or organisation inconvenienced (or even seriously damaged) by the sideeffects of legislation that's actually meant to protect EU citizens.

      Sorry, but you stated this ...

    11. Re:They don't... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit. Look at how the "right to be forgotten" has already been used, including by murderers and criminal managers and politicians.

    12. Re:They don't... by dave420 · · Score: 1

      You are terrible at citing sources. Really bad. You've made claim after claim yet demonstrated nothing except your staggering ignorance of the subject. It's almost as if you are just angry that the EU is pointing out some messed-up stuff done by US companies, and your patriotism is getting you all angry. It's so cute!

    13. Re:They don't... by ooloorie · · Score: 1

      You are terrible at citing sources. Really bad.

      No, you are simply terrible at using Google to check some simple, basic facts for yourself. I suggest you do (as long as you still can access Google, of course).

      t's almost as if you are just angry that the EU is pointing out some messed-up stuff done by US companies, and your patriotism is getting you all angry.

      Yes, my patriotism for the country I was born in makes me angry, because after WWII, Europeans had a chance to create a free and prosperous society and they have been pissing it away.

      It's so cute!

      What's not so cute is that, as Europe is slowly spiraling down the drain, the US has to foot the bill.

    14. Re:They don't... by denzacar · · Score: 1

      It's one thing if you want the BBC to take down an article they wrote because it's supposed to be a fact-checked objectively written and newsworthy story in the first place.

      Want don't get.

      Read again.

      However, this right would be restricted in some cases, for instance when the data is needed for historical, statistical and scientific purposes, for public health reasons or to exercise the right to freedom of expression.

      The rest of your concerns all fall under that paragraph as well.
      The vision of gloom and doom that exists in your mind is not an accurate portrayal of reality.

      This is not some reverse-DMCA thing where billions of individuals would storm your offices on a hunch that you have their data on your servers.
      This is assurance for individuals that Company X and Government Y can't do whatever it pleases for as long as it pleases with data said individuals are now unwittingly leaving everywhere they go.
      With certain exceptions even to that.

      --
      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
  13. Re:Priorities ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    We are fucked up because we don't like the United States of Merkin kind forcing their laws and culture on us? Fix your own damn house and we will fix ours the way we want it to be.

    If you don't like our laws then don't to business here but you can't because you are so fucking ideologically greedy in your worship of the almighty it hurts merkins to leave one in a pocket that isn't theirs!

  14. Re:Priorities ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nah .. it is your own fucking drone citizens making choices going to McDonald vs some local eatery.
    You are fucking yourselves over and you know it ...

    Anyway, US and its big-corporation, cultural BS is least of your worries ...

  15. Loophole is bigger than subby's mom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can ask Facebook to completely delete your profile instead of just marking it as dormant.

    Not anymore - it's needed for statistical purposes. FB, Google, et.al. work hard to collect vast volumes of data because the aggregation is what allows their statistical inferences to be more accurate (which, not coincidentally, makes their statistical inferences more commercially valuable).

    The revised law should allow you to still get an article about your arrest deleted if you weren't convicted in court, but it just eviscerated your ability to make a commercial entity delete the info it collected about you after you've chosen to stop doing business with them.

    1. Re:Loophole is bigger than subby's mom by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      When that gets tested in court, they'll likely have to show that this statistical data can no be deanonymised which, given the fact that that's been shown to be basically impossible for any data and still have it remain useful, should be a good time to invest in shares of popcorn merchants.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  16. The Right to Forget by ipb · · Score: 0

    I want the right to forget.

    So when I see a politician, country, company or individual I don't like I can request that their presence be erased from the internet.

    It makes as much sense as the right to be forgotten.

    1. Re:The Right to Forget by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I want to own my personal data. There is no reason why Google or Facebook can collect it and then claim ownership of it or the collection.

      Don't forget the tech companies colluded to not poach personnel and thus keep wages low. Oh, what do I feel sorry for them. So sorry, pityful companies. Not able to lobby at all. I'm sure they need a lot of help and more slanting of the tables their way.

    2. Re:The Right to Forget by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's nothing stopping you from running your own server, and web crawler, and search engine.

      So long as you don't give any of your data to other servers they can't collect it. Your act of accessing their systems gives them the right to use that data to serve your request and part of serving that request is improving their service, e.g., putting more frequently clicked on articles higher in search results.

      Granted it's difficult to use a global network without accessing its servers...

      I wonder if you think it should be illegal for people to remember the misdeeds and embarrassing personal details of others? If not, then once you've managed the ridiculous task of removing some article you found embarrassing online, the bloke you stole from can just create a new article about the event he remembers taking place, or the girl you dated that one time can just create a new page about your crooked wanker.

      You don't have a right to be forgotten in reality. Thus, you should not demand such god-like ability be granted to you in subsets of reality not under your control. It is asinine.

  17. So you checked a subset and made a pronouncement? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Are you sure you checked a statistically significant subset? The problem with your idea is that a quick web search would have turned up articles to the contrary. The "right to be forgotten" can and will be used improperly, to deny the people their right to information that they need to make intelligent decisions.

    An even more serious problem with the right to be forgotten is that it is impeding humanity's development. We need to see other humans' foibles on display, so that we can learn that we are more the same than different, and get some fucking perspective on what is actually happening. When people are able to hide their misdeeds, we get a fake picture of the world. Only a subset of people will actually be able to be forgotten. They gain an unfair advantage over those whose requests will be denied. They get to pretend to be better people than they are, and damn the consequences to everyone else and themselves.

    The right to be forgotten is a gigantic step backwards in our quest for acceptance from other humans, and only people who only think about themselves in the short term think otherwise. You're concerned about how much you might like to be forgotten if you do something inconvenient for your reputation. But what about all the other people who have done the same thing? By hiding the fact that you've done it, you're making them look like aberrations, when it could actually be something commonplace. Congratulations, you just failed your fellow man.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  18. Nope... by denzacar · · Score: 2

    Not for convicted murderers to be able to erase their past from the internet.

    Except, of course, that this is what it has been used for in the past.

    Except it wasn't.
    For one, these rules won't be applicable for at least two more years.
    So unless you're claiming that what happened in the past actually happened in the future...

    Also, it didn't even happen in the past, according to your own link.

    On December 15, 2009, the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) in Karlsruhe ruled that German websites do not have to check their archives in order to provide permanent protection of personality rights for convicted criminals.

    If anything, these new rules ensure that such cases don't happen again.

    Mit der Dummheit kampfen Gotter selbst vergebens

    True. Just look in the mirror.

    Why? Plenty of illiterate idiots like you to point at and laugh.

    Point.
    Point point.
    Point point point.
    Ha-ha.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    1. Re:Nope... by ooloorie · · Score: 1

      Except it wasn't.

      Not under "these rules", but under a putative "right to be forgotten". The new rules appear to strengthen the old ones.

      Also, it didn't even happen in the past, according to your own link.

      The "right to be forgotten" never applied to German news organizations. It was always intended to limit foreign search engines.

      You keep demonstrating your own ignorance and bigotry.

    2. Re:Nope... by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      Except it wasn't.

      Not under "these rules", but under a putative "right to be forgotten".

      There wasn't any old rules. They NEVER EXISTED. All you have been told about the "old rules" are lies. They never existed!!!!

      What did exist was national laws, and a human right court decision that said national laws that put time limits on certain information also applied on the internet. Being on the internet does not raise you about existing laws, no matter how silly they may seem.

    3. Re:Nope... by ooloorie · · Score: 1

      There wasn't any old rules. They NEVER EXISTED. All you have been told about the "old rules" are lies. They never existed!!!!

      I didn't talk about "old rules", I talked about a "putative 'right to be forgotten'". Go look up what the word "putative" means if you are having trouble with it.

      What did exist was national laws, and a human right court decision that said national laws that put time limits on certain information also applied on the internet. Being on the internet does not raise you about existing laws, no matter how silly they may seem.

      The information itself isn't "limited", what is limited is the ability of search engines to provide it to people. Archives, banks, doctors, lenders, politicians, police, newspapers, and governments can hold your past misdeeds over you in perpetuity; the "right to be forgotten" simply limits the ability of ordinary citizens to obtain information for themselves via search engines.

  19. Servers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, with the EU having these absurdities, and the US having the NSA, it's probably time for Canada to start marketing itself to server hosting companies.

  20. Credit Reports - example of what happenes without by ffkom · · Score: 4, Interesting

    such data privacy laws - see John Oliver's recent episode on Credit Reports in the US. That's what happenes if 1 in 20 humans is associated with wrong, outdated information by corporations.

  21. You're full of shit and paranoia... by denzacar · · Score: 1

    The "right to be forgotten" never applied to German news organizations. It was always intended to limit foreign search engines.

    Except all you're able to point at is a single case of one guy's lawyers trying to make Wikipedia and Deutschlandradio internet archives to remove his name - and failing at that.

    Ergo... how did you put it... You keep demonstrating your own ignorance and bigotry.
    And a rather large dose of "stick it to big US companies" paranoia.

    The new rules appear to strengthen the old ones.

    Except they specifically list exemptions for legal, archival, scientific research, public interest, freedom of expression etc.

    (42) Derogating from the prohibition on processing sensitive categories of data should also be allowed if done by a law, and subject to suitable safeguards, so as to protect personal data and other fundamental rights, where grounds of public interest so justify and in particular for health purposes, including public health and social protection and the management of health-care services, especially in order to ensure the quality and cost-effectiveness of the procedures used for settling claims for benefits and services in the health insurance system, for historical, statistical and scientific research purposes, or for archive services . [Am. 21]

    (53) Any person should have the right to have personal data concerning them rectified and a 'right to erasure ' where the retention of such data is not in compliance with this Regulation.
    In particular, data subjects should have the right that their personal data are erased and no longer processed, where the data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which the data are collected or otherwise processed, where data subjects have withdrawn their consent for processing or where they object to the processing of personal data concerning them or where the processing of their personal data otherwise does not comply with this Regulation.
    However, the further retention of the data should be allowed where it is necessary for historical, statistical and scientific research purposes, for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, for exercising the right of freedom of expression, when required by law or where there is a reason to restrict the processing of the data instead of erasing them.
    Also, the right to erasure should not apply when the retention of personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject, or when there is a legal obligation to retain this data. [Am. 27]

    Seriously... get yourself some enema. Being so full of shit is not healthy.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    1. Re:You're full of shit and paranoia... by ooloorie · · Score: 1

      Except all you're able to point at is a single case of one guy's lawyers trying to make Wikipedia and Deutschlandradio internet archives to remove his name - and failing at that.

      Google has already received 280000 "right to be forgotten" requests.

      As for Wikipedia, European courts have no jurisdiction over it anyway.

      Except they specifically list exemptions for legal, archival, scientific research, public interest, freedom of expression etc.

      Yes precisely. What isn't exempt is foreign corporations, search engines, and other such entities. And low information voters like you think that's a good thing.

    2. Re:You're full of shit and paranoia... by denzacar · · Score: 1

      Google has already received 280000 "right to be forgotten" requests.

      As for Wikipedia, European courts have no jurisdiction over it anyway.

      RUN GOALPOSTS! RUN! INTO THE HORIZON!
      All 280000 cases are German murderers I suppose? What?
      Oh right... you ran out of arguments trying to argue that there, so you are now just shifting goalposts.

      And low information voters like you think that's a good thing.

      And paranoid schizos like you fail to provide a single plausible reason why exempting a foreign commercial interest in a law designed to protect private individuals, which would not benefit anyone but said foreign commercial interests AT THE EXPENSE of said private individual - why would THAT be a good thing.

      All you people got is some fluff and scaremongering about "murrrrrrdererrrrs" erasing their history.
      Then when you are called out on your unsubstantiated bullshit - you shift goal posts to encompass some even fluffier case.

      What's next? A Zionist conspiracy?
      Come on! Don't fail us now! Show the world your TRUE CRAZY COLORS!

      --
      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    3. Re:You're full of shit and paranoia... by ooloorie · · Score: 1

      And paranoid schizos like you fail to provide a single plausible reason why exempting a foreign commercial interest in a law designed to protect private individuals, which would not benefit anyone but said foreign commercial interests AT THE EXPENSE of said private individual - why would THAT be a good thing.

      Nowhere did I say that foreign commercial interests should be exempted. What I'm saying is that you are a patsy for nationalistic corporatism and the European police state.

      In case you missed it: UK Intel Agencies Have Been Spying on Millions of People 'Of No Security Interest' Since 1990s, and France and Germany have been at least as bad.

      What's next? A Zionist conspiracy?

      Well, since "protecting private individuals" from "foreign commercial interests" has been the rallying cry of fascists for a century, I actually wouldn't be surprised if that's what you are going to believe in next.

    4. Re:You're full of shit and paranoia... by denzacar · · Score: 1

      What I'm saying is that you are a patsy for nationalistic corporatism and the European police state.

      Darn it! You've seen through our plans!
      We'll have to give you and your family cancer with our secret European police state satellites much faster now.

      Run to your hole paranoia-boy! It won't help you! We've put it in your water too!

      --
      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    5. Re:You're full of shit and paranoia... by ooloorie · · Score: 1

      We'll have to give you and your family cancer with our secret European police state satellites much faster now.

      If it makes you happy; I won't lose any sleep over it. I just find it sad how Europeans never seem to learn from their history.

    6. Re:You're full of shit and paranoia... by denzacar · · Score: 1

      We're coming for your guuuuunnnsssssss...

      --
      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    7. Re:You're full of shit and paranoia... by ooloorie · · Score: 1

      With 60000 American soldiers, dozens of military bases, and hundreds of nuclear warheads stationed in Europe... not bloody likely.

    8. Re:You're full of shit and paranoia... by denzacar · · Score: 1

      And that's just the start.
      Stupid, stupid paranoid boy. Haven't you heard about Br'er Rabbit's Briar Patch?
      We got ya men, ya guns, ya nukes... Oh, please, please! Don't send any more!

      --
      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    9. Re:You're full of shit and paranoia... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You apparently have serious problems understanding sarcasm, combined with the usual anti-American bigotry so common among Europeans.

  22. Re:Priorities ? by Computershack · · Score: 2

    Things like "everyone is required to have an id at all times" , being mandated under the law to report changes of residence to authorities - all that shit ,which is reserved to sexual offenders only in the USA, is considered normal in EU.

    Is it? We don't even have ID cards in the UK so that is over 1/10th of the entire population of the EU who don't have ID cards. I don't know of anyone in any of the EU countries I've spoken to who have ever mentioned anything about being forced to report changes of residence to the authorities - you're certainly not required to in the UK. You should stop believing everything you watch on Fox News because its making you look stupid.

    --
    I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
  23. Unbelievable comments. by Computershack · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I can't believe how many people, mostly Americans, think its bad that there is a law out there forcing companies to tell you what they intend to do with your personal data and if they have a breach where that data is compromised. They also seem to have a poor grasp of the right to be forgotten rule as well. Its not intended to hide stuff that politicians or corporations have done in the past but is instead there to protect private individuals from having irrelevant shit they did when they were young and stupid which no longer needs to see the light of day from being able to be found and used against them. Its there to protect those who were falsely accused from having to undergo further misery in their lives. And fuck you if you're too stupid to see that.

    --
    I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
    1. Re:Unbelievable comments. by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 1

      Because the US is geared towards Old Testament retribution, something that goes far beyond the idea of "justice". When someone does anything "bad", the bulk of citizens think that it should be eternally hung around the convicted like the allegorical albatross. Unless, of course, it's a "financial" crime then most people here are just fine with that, if not downright supportive because here in the US wealth=righteousness. Our justice system is driven by over-zealous District Attorneys, and the foundation is for-profit prisons. Cases become political quite quickly when your conviction rate influences your next election. Many of our "public defenders" later go to work inside the District Attorney's offices.

      The problem with the EU's law is that it WILL be used by politicians and corps to hide past misdeeds. Corps always exploit any and all loopholes available; it's just the nature of the beast. Since corps have only one goal (profit for shareholders), if being able to purge "bad press" is available they will use it. Not that they actually care that much past what might impact quarterly profits.

    2. Re:Unbelievable comments. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      not intended to hide stuff that politicians or corporations have done in the past but is instead there to protect private individuals from having irrelevant shit they did when they were young and stupid which no longer needs to see the light of day

      The town where I come from in South Germany has a member of parliament (Merkel's party) who became famous at 17 for writing antisemitic propaganda. That started his political career, but for a court it would probably fall under young, stupid and irrelevant. So much for the distinction you're drawing.

    3. Re:Unbelievable comments. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am honestly shocked that Europoors think that companies won't just harvest every bit of data they can about them and then just keep it someplace for anyone at all to access where this set of laws do not apply, very much like they currently do. These laws are a joke - nothing that can either technically or feasibly be accomplished without the compliance of governments and corporations that lie outside of the EU, but we'll make this law anyway because someone might have their poor fee fees in a twist otherwise.

      I can see it now - there is going to be a very large monetized market for all of this data (the likes of Google/Facebook/Lexis-Nexis data pools just the tip of the iceberg here), it will be held outside of the EU, and the poor saps in the EU are going to be on the losing end of it when everyone from Pakistan to Argentina is using that data how they see fit and people in the EU can't do anything at all about it except whine.

    4. Re:Unbelievable comments. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you!
      I too was annoyed by all these comments by people that don't seem to know what this law does and doesn't do.

      These laws will also make it possible to repeal previous consent given to a company.
      Currently, once you give persmission to a company to collect your personal data, that was that. Even if the company changed their rules about how they use it, or the company merges, etc... you couldn't repeal. Now you can.

      The laws also only govern "personal" data, so anonymous statistical data, etc... is completely not affected.

      This law doesn't censor anything.

      This law also states that personal data must be protected by design.
      From the inception of your new platform, software, etc... you have to seriously think about dataprivacy.
      This will help to minimize the massive data leaks that seem to get worse every year, most of the time there was no security in place.

    5. Re:Unbelievable comments. by chasm22 · · Score: 1

      The only thing unbelievable is you got 5 points for your comment. "And fuck you if you're too stupid to see that." So trolling gets 5 points.

      Perhaps trolls shouldn't be mods. That way a mod could be relied upon to score a comment with the appropriate score and those that choose to filter comments would have a reliable way of doing so.

  24. Social progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Rehabilitation is far more socially responsible and sane than eternal retribution. Rehabilitating someone under the circumstance of constantly and permanently reminding everyone of the mistakes or errors they have made in the past is very unlikely. Which, of course, brings us directly to resentment- and repression-fueled recidivism.

    Doesn't stop the pitchfork and torch bearers from foaming at the mouth, of course, but its absolutely true nonetheless.

  25. Re:Credit Reports - example of what happenes witho by fyngyrz · · Score: 1

    Underrated

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  26. Gossip by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gossip knowledge is power over other people, a form of blackmail. It was deprecated for years because of modern travel to escape it but the internet is giving the power back to the mavens who exploit it.

    1. Re:Gossip by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 1

      Gossip is society's form of the immune system. In the bigger picture, it ejects those people who don't conform to that particular cultures ideals; especially when said person hasn't done anything actually "illegal" just "culturally immoral".

  27. not stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Yup. That is the idea. Although, most people assume OJ did kill his wife now, he actually was found not guilty in a court of law by a jury of his peers. But, he spent the rest of his life being persecuted for it, which eventually led to him committing additional crimes. The publicity of it ruined his life. Maybe he deserved that in this particular case, but most people do not. The public has no right to "mob rule" ruin someone's life over something they've been acquitted of. This new law exists to try to humanely protect these individuals.

  28. Jared Fogle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...Is glad to see your views on this and would very much like to meet your children one day.

    1. Re:Jared Fogle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ahhh, the old "think about the children" argument of assholes and wanna be tyrants.

  29. Re:So you checked a subset and made a pronouncemen by stevelinton · · Score: 1

    Your telegraph article mentions people claiming the right be forgotten. No evidence that they were granted it.

  30. Can't stop laughing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This whole ideal of privacy on the web is an oxymoron. No such thing, and why would you join Facebook or any other social site and complain about privacy or expect any? Or join any free service for the end user and not expect the service provider to use some of your information, track you, or ad target you? It's like asking ISIS to protect your rights. Yea, that would happen. The EU wastes more money and time thinking it's doing some good for the people. What a joke that is.

  31. For those in the UK and Ireland however... by MPBoulton · · Score: 0

    "Due to UK and Ireland's special status regarding justice and home affairs legislation, the directive's provisions will only apply in these countries to a limited extent."

    If the UK is even in the EU by the of course...

  32. Re:So you checked a subset and made a pronouncemen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It doesn't matter much if they are granted it. If this new "right" is handled anything like Imaginary Property, the chilling effect alone does it.

  33. Re:So you checked a subset and made a pronouncemen by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Your telegraph article mentions people claiming the right be forgotten. No evidence that they were granted it.

    It doesn't matter; at least a subset of bad claims will be granted, if history is any indicator. I am not going to ignore history, so you can forget that argument right now.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  34. Re:So you checked a subset and made a pronouncemen by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

    "All presumptive evidence of felony should be admitted cautiously; for the law holds it better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent party suffer." - William Blackstone

    People like Benjamin Franklin and John Adams put their own spin on this but Blackstone said it first: Justice works better when we err on the side of caution. "This might possibly be misused so we must forbid it" is a terrible policy. In fact, this exact stance applied to encryption is what we like to ridicule the NSA for.

    And no, RTBF claims are not destroying our historical record for all future generations to come. Your blog is not the sole source of historical information and in the grand scheme of things the important bits will be preserved throught things like court records. Sure, it might be interesting for future generations to do statistical analysis on blog posts - but then again I don't think that most blogs will be preserved in any form whatsoever for the next hundred years. A website dies, the information goes away. Perhaps the Internet Archive has a copy but plenty of times it doesn't. This is not a tragedy.

    --
    USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  35. Re:Priorities ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In most of the EU, you are required to be able to identify yourself at any time when you are in a public place, if asked by an authorized person.
    In private places, the owner (or delegate) is allowed to ask identification, but you are not required to give it. (And as it is a private place, the owner is also not required to let you in, if you refuse.)
    Some countries have ID cards, in others you are allowed to identify you with a driver's license, etc...

    As far as I'm aware, you are not required to have an official place of residence, so you don't "have" to report where you live.
    However, there are incentives and benefits to have an official residence, and therefore almost all citizens have an "official" (registered) address.
    You need to keep it up to date, and if you move, you are at least required to "unregister" the old one.

  36. Hi, my name is Charles Manson. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I never raped any children, but I too approve your rehabilitation idea.

  37. video with big msg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://vid.me/O6Bq