I had big Gavin Belson vibes with this one
Why is it that when I type my own name into my own company search engine, the fucking Internet rains shit‑bolts down on me? I want this to stop!
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Fuck Maury Blackman, the perpetrator of violence and intimidating lawsuits.
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This is the first time they've been caught. It would be naive to think this is the only time this has happened. No doubt they've scrubbed data of bad actors on their side many times without anyone knowing.
The saga began in 2023 when independent journalist Jack Poulson reported on Maury Blackman's 2021 domestic violence arrest. Blackman, who was then the CEO of surveillance tech firm Premise Data Corp., took offense at the publication of his legal issues. The case did not lead to charges after Blackman's 25-year-old girlfriend recanted her claims against the 53-year-old CEO, but Poulson reported on some troubling details of the public arrest report.
Came here to do what the other 13 of you did. :D
Oh TL;DR they used the refresh-URL function to point to a miscapitalized URL which returned 404 and effectively disappeared the article from Google.
That's how alleged domestic abuser and surveillance CEO Maury Blackman, or someone with a keen interest in his story about the arrest for such an incident, may have done it.
Ok... Here's something you should know.
What happened there was suppressing personal data from Google's search engine. In the EU, that is regarded as a fundamental human right. The "right to be forgotten" is exactly about hiding a shady past. The GDPR gives you the right to demand that Google must omit certain links when people search for your name. Google does comply. You don't need a court order or anything.
So, you can't celebrate the GDPR while also condemning what happened here.
Now Google, go back and find all those links that changed to a 404 and reactivate them.
Unlikely.
Pretty sure that was exactly the desired use of the tool. Definitely not misused.
Good thing he learned his lesson ans will not be beating anymore girlfriends.
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