[cpa]

Killed the internet in Europe? Come on. Free speech in the US and in Europe are two different things. But neither is better, it's a matter of culture. This decision is not backwards and it's not killing free speech as I know it in France (and most of the EU). Now, on the technicalities of the decision, there's probably to be said.

[regoldste]

I intended my comment hyperbolically, consistent with my overall satirical tone.

To be clear, I don't believe this will kill the internet, and I don't think it is necessarily undermining European free speech protections. My concern is not as much with freedom of speech and the speaker's right to disseminate information about others; my concern is with the role of the government in curating the universe of "relevant" knowledge that we consume.

As I mentioned in a lengthier discussion of this issue yesterday (when I assumed a more serious tone), I am concerned that the EU's opinion is effectively denuding the internet of its power for disseminating knowledge quickly and cheaply, and thereby democratizing the processes of determining truth. The court has approved a pernicious form of content restrictions that will be based on the utterly toothless (not to mention absurdly subjective) standard of "relevance," and driven by individuals whose interests are contrary to the public interest in information.

[VikingCoder]

It is absolutely backwards.

It may be more cost effective for Google to stop serving search results in Spain.

Before you call me ridiculous, how much do you think Google makes off of those 47 million Spaniards each year, and how much do you think it will cost Google if those 47 million Spaniards or a large portion of them start demanding the company remove information about them?

If the cost to comply is greater than the profit, what would you do?

[regoldste]

I believe the European Court of Justice's ruling applies to all of the EU countries, not just to Spain. I think it's unimaginable that Google would stop serving the entire EU market on principle.

But you raise a neat question: assuming it was just Spain (or the next similarly sized country to reach this decision), what would happen if Google threatened to entirely pull out of the country--i.e., stop serving search results or supporting any Google services there? Are they powerful enough to influence national policy? It seems unlikely, but it's a neat hypothetical.

[VikingCoder]

Google pulled out of China on principle.

China is a hell of a lot bigger than the EU.

[cpa]

Pulling out of China is a good PR move (although that's not the main reason). Pulling out of Spain, not so much. The shitstorm that would ensue would be very detrimental.

And tbh, you won't see many lawsuits where people try to enforce their "right to be forgotten". We may have stronger libel laws here but we don't have the lawsuit culture of the US. There's no way it'll be cost-effective for Google to pull out from Spain or the EU.