The case for scrubbing search results

Reactions to the ruling earlier this month by the European Union's Court of Justice that individuals have the "right to be forgotten" on the Internet differ depending on which side of the Atlantic you're on. Europeans mostly agree with the decision; in America, the reaction is perceived as a threat to free speech.
 
Writing for Bloomberg Businessweek, former Harper's Magazine editor Paul Ford suggests the ruling doesn't have to result in all-or-nothing online searches.
 
Publications, Ford says, can still maintain historical archives of all information but can block Google from indexing irrelevant personal information with digital tools or code. The search engine already regularly removes illegal materials and in the past deleted discussion group conversations at users' request.

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