[TechDirt] Former NSA Lawyer Asks Google To ‘Forget’ All Of Techdirt’s Posts About Him

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Former NSA counsel and surveillance/security state hypeman Stewart Baker has had just about enough of Techdirt making « distorted claims » about his statements for the « purposes of making money. » […]

Stewart’s takedown request targeting Techdirt is mostly tongue-in-cheek, but it does highlight the sort of abuse that should be expected when government bodies attempt to force the internet to bend to their will. Granting a « right to be forgotten » pretty much ensures that a majority of the requests will be no more legitimate than Baker’s.

Multiple advocates for the law have compared it with the infamous DMCA takedown notice, something that has also been routinely abused. But at least the DMCA takedown carries with it the (almost never enforced) charge of perjury for issuing bogus takedowns. The RTBF form simply asks for a copy of the submitter’s identification. There’s nothing in it to discourage abuse of the system. If you don’t like something someone has said about you on the web, just fill out a webform. […]

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140609/06552627523/former-nsa-lawyer-asks-google-to-forget-all-techdirts-posts-about-him.shtml