Internet giant Google is set to defend itself in Spain, after the country’s data protection authority ordered the company to remove links to articles in newspapers that could be potentially defamatory.
The officials have said Google needs to take away about 100 online articles from the search results, but Google says this would have a “profound, chilling effect”.
The matter is set to appear before a court in Madrid tomorrow.
Google director of external relations for Europe, Peter Barron, said in a statement that “we are disappointed by the actions of the Spanish privacy regulatory”.
Google argues that it is simply acting as a third party.
”Requiring intermediaries, like search engines, to censor material published by others would have a profound, chilling effect on free expression without protecting people’s privacy.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
