The proposed measures have yet to be put into practice, but the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has decided that "vulnerable groups" deserve the right to remove information appearing in search engines.
Yes, you read it correctly. The triggered and vulnerable in Canada will soon be able "to challenge, and seek amendment to demonstrably illegal, inaccurate, incomplete and out of date information" -- under Canadian law, and internet companies will have to comply.
"But protecting reputation is increasingly difficult in the digital age, where so much about us is systematically indexed, accessed and shared with just a few keystrokes. Online information about us can easily be distorted or taken out of context and it is often extremely difficult to remove"
It's no shock that the proposer of this policy Daniel Therrien wants to censor the internet, I'm sure he's been bullied at some point in his life. Perhaps someone with an opposing view has challenged him online, with evidence to back up their claim. But if Therrien gets his way, with the click of a button and a few sips of coffee, Therrien could potentially change the evidence his challenger presented. It won't stop there.
Canadian: Who are vulnerable groups? Where do you draw the line with such a broad label?
Commissioner: Just trust us. We pass it as law first, then tell you after the damage is done.
Say hello to an Orwellian nightmare, a 2018 version of history book burning. Triggered by Sir John A. MacDonald? No Problem! You can have that piece of information censored.
Your government cares about you.
The proposed policy is an interpretation of the European Union's right to be forgotten, but is backed up by an existing Canadian privacy law. Measures have not yet been put into practice, and the commissioner is planning to hold further consultations before finalizing a position. Which means there is still time to spread awareness, speak out against it and most importantly, save information. Post on Steemit where it cannot be taken down.
Information is power.