You can now ask Google to remove links about you

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If there's something online you don't want people to see you can now ask Google to pretend the offending item doesn't exist.

The search giant has created an online form through which you can ask for links to personal data or posts about you to be removed from its search results. The new form is in response to a recent European Commission ruling that people must have the "right to be forgotten" online.

The EC ruled that you can ask for Google to stop linking to anything that's "inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant, or excessive in relation to the purposes for which they were processed."

Clear history

When you submit the links you want removed, Google says it will "assess each individual request and attempt to balance the privacy rights of the individual with the public's right to know and distribute information."

A committee of experts will make the judgements, with members including Luciano Floridi, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information at the University of Oxford. In a statement provided to CNET by Google, Professor Floridi called the move, "an exciting initiative, which will probably require some hard and rather philosophical thinking."

To stop wrong'uns attempting to whitewash their past, Google pledges to consider "whether there's a public interest in the information -- for example, information about financial scams, professional malpractice, criminal convictions or public conduct of government officials."

To ask for links to be removed, you have to supply the URL and explain how the links in question relate to you. To finalise a request, you must provide your name, contact email address, and a scan of some photo ID.

The form also allows you to make a request on behalf of someone else, allowing spouses, lawyers and other associates to ask for links about someone else to be removed.

The Big G adds that the online form is an "initial effort" and will be refined over time.