Comment Re:Awesome! (Score 1) 163
Businesses shouldn't be using the Internet to do checks on applicants. All that should matter is if they can do the job, and any criminal activity they may have been convicted of within the past 10 years.
Someone having sex on a crowded train shouldn't matter. What should matter is if they were convicted of said crime within the previous 10 years, and if they're applying for certain jobs where such actions speak to their character--train conductor.
Just because someone commits a crime or does an ill-deed, doesn't mean they should end up jobless and homeless on the street.
MAKE IT ILLEGAL for businesses to use certain resources in determine job eligibility, loan qualifications, etc.
And for goodness sake, there's something called a retraction! News article got something wrong? Have them print a retraction or sue them for defemation.
So you solved the employment problem.
Now what about the neighbour problem? I mean, you move into a new house in a nice neighbourhood, and one of the neighbours Googles you and finds you did something unsavory. Perhaps it was urinating in public. Or maybe it was a nasty divorce. Or perhaps you have a DUI.
Well geez, now your neighbours starts spreading rumors and you're persona non grata in what is otherwise a nice neighbourhood. Perhaps one of them finds their lawn gnome stolen. Who's blamed? You. This is a VERY annoying way to live one's life, and the only way out is to move.
Hell, any crimes of a sexual nature are "guilty". There's no innocence to prove - you will NEVER be found innocent even if the legal system says you're innocent.
As for retractions - have you actually seen one? They're usually on the bottom of the page in a tiny corner of the page. Anyone searching is more likely to find the retracted article than the retraction. Even if they post a "This article has been retracted and is presented here for archival purposes. The retraction notice is here" link at the top.
Oh, and 10 year old convictions? With Google, it doesn't matter it happened 10 years ago and you've gone clean. Think about it - if the only bad thing that went public was something 20 years ago, Google's going to bring it up as if it was new and fresh because that's all the information it has on you.
If you want to know what "brand management" companies do, it's just that - making old stuff disappear by making more news that buries the old items that are no longer relevant. It's the only way to "hide" old stuff.
And that's the real problem with the internet - it's got an infallible memory and if the only things it knows about you are bad things that happened decades earlier, that's what the internet will bring up on you. So either you have to exercise "Right to be forgotten" because it's no longer relevant, or you have to brand manage and SEO your way to hide that stuff from years ago by burying it under mountains of new news.