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Search engines and privacy
Data, privacy and web search engines. The Spanish authority of data protection set up international positions.
The Spanish Agency of Data Protection has done a report and a public communication in which keeps an coherent attitude according to the topic and the National and International repercussions.
Then, as publishers are responsible for the content in accordance with the laws that regulates Internet and data protection, so searches are.
Among the conclusions of the report, it should be mentioned the seventh one that says literally: "It's necessary to limit the use of the personal data" and the number eight says: "searching services must respect the rights that people have to cancel the data that some links show the public in websites". It means, every single or juridical person can be against that his data are indexed-link and are showed everybody."
The report marks there is not a uniform policy about privacy in web search engine. It is not enough to protect personal information and it should be more responsible and respectful. The report says that some clear informative mechanisms should be developed in order to let the users know which use will be done to their data.
Before now, web search engines have been defending their no responsibility National and Internationally under the fact that they only search and give back on line information, being the publishers responsible for that.
The point of view of The Spanish Authority of Data Protection opens a debate between the two rights, trying to get equilibrium: freedom of expression and privacy rights, both of them included in the Universal Human Rights Conventions.
Without no doubts, this scheme is the same as the ones that are in the other countries and, it will bring national and international consequences, that will affect the laws about data protection, new technologies, internet, honour, intimacy and image protection. Moreover, there could be criminal consequences as well as changes of way of the web search engine work, its index/links systems, and its development policy.