Google wins "right to be forgotten" battle in JapanFebruary 1, 2017 - 16:36 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Google has won a long-standing battle in Japan that drew parallels with Europe’s “right to be forgotten” ruling, TechCrunch says. The Japanese Supreme Court on Wednesday, February 1 dismissed four cases against the U.S. company seeking the removal of allegedly defamatory comments in its Google Maps service, including one high-profile case involving a medical clinic. Back in April 2015, the Chiba District Court ruled that Google must delete the comments, but the search giant appealed that decision and has now prevailed. The ruling dismisses the cases, which were troubling because the comments in question appeared to be legitimate. In the instance of the medical clinic, two comments made about the business via Google Maps seemed to document negative customer experiences. However, the clinic had sought to scrub them from the web via a defamation suit against Google. While there are similarities with Europe’s “right to be forgotten” ruling, the legal cases are not the same. The Europe’s case, the issues center around the freedom of individuals, but, in Japan, the suits against Google came a small number of plaintiffs that included both businesses and individuals. “We’re pleased that with these latest rulings, the Supreme Court has unanimously recognized, based on existing privacy and defamation laws, that any decision to delete information from search results should prioritize the public’s right to information,” Google told TechCrunch in a statement. The U.S. firm previously argued against the removals, stating that they did not violate its terms and served an important purpose for the public. “While we provide tools that allow business owners to respond to reviews, and we take down posts that violate our policies, we believe online reviews, positive and negative, are a critical tool for people to give and read direct feedback about businesses,” it said in 2015. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |