Requests have been made to exclude 19 separate PinkNews articles from Google searches under ‘right to be forgotten’ rules.

In 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that people have a right to request that search engines remove links to content that is “irrelevant or no longer relevant” in Europe.

The rules allow people to ask search engines “to remove specific results for queries that include their name, where the interests in those results appearing are outweighed by the person’s privacy rights” – and plenty of people have been filing requests for PinkNews content to be omitted.

While PinkNews is informed when a page is removed from search results, no specific information is given to suggest why this occurs. PinkNews is not suggesting that any one person is responsible for the removal of any specific articles.

Although search engines are bound by the ‘right to be forgotten’ rules, there is no expectation that the content itself will be deleted – and no requirement that it not be republished.

With that in mind, here’s some of the PinkNews articles that people would apparently rather you forgot.

Islamic extremist who brands homosexuality a sin to give evidence at sex education inquiry

(Published in 2014)
A former member of extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir – who believes homosexuality is a sinful “lifestyle choice” – will give evidence at a House of Commons inquiry into Sex and Relationships (SRE) Education.

Yusuf Patel, the founder of SRE Islamic, gave a speech at the East London Mosque in March 2009, where he condemned a school in Leytonstone for using And Tango Makes Three, a children’s book based on a true story about two male penguins who raise an abandoned penguin chick together.

Mr Patel branded homosexuality “unacceptable” and said homosexuality was being taught to children “through the backdoor”. He criticised the school for using the book as a tool against homophobic bullying.

Gay porn star jailed after trying to smuggle crystal meth in his anus

(Published in 2014)

A gay porn star has been jailed for two years – after trying to smuggle crystal meth into the UK inside his rectum.

British-born Bruno Knight was arrested in California in July, while attempting to smuggle crystal meth onto a flight to the UK.

The erotic actor, real name Phillip Gizzie, was arrested at Los Angeles Airport after attempting to board a Virgin Atlantic flight.

He eventually admitted to the drugs being inside him – which had to be removed by enema.

 

EastEnders star cut from Children in Need quiz after offending S Club 7 with anti-gay joke

(Published in 2014)

EastEnders actor Shane Richie was reportedly cut from a Children in Need quiz last Friday after offending members of S Club 7 by making an anti-gay joke.

Waiting for people to enter the lift, Ritchie reportedly said: “Hurry up! Last person in is a gay!”

The three members of S Club 7 who were in the lift – Tina Barrett, Jo O’Meara and Hannah Spearritt – were not amused.

The Sun have reported a “source” close to Richie has confirmed he made the comment, but denied it was meant to be offensive.

Football fans convicted for homophobic jibes in landmark case

(Published in August 2006)

Two football supporters have become the first fans to be convicted of chanting homophobic abuse.

James Monkhouse and Michael Church, followers of Norwich City, were found guilty by Norwich Magistrates’ Court of disorderly behaviour after reportedly shouting anti-gay chants aimed at Brighton football club fans earlier this year.

The defendants were filmed chanting the word “queer” from the stands, the court was told, and were later escorted out of the stadium by football intelligence officer PC Chris Watts, to the applause of Brighton fans.

Humanists complain to Ofsted over Jewish school that brands being gay against its ‘ethos’

(Published in 2014)

The British Humanist Association has complained to Ofsted about an east London Jewish school that advises pupils to ignore exam questions on evolution, and considers evolution, same-sex relationships and social media to go against its ethos.

Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls’ School in Hackney was downgraded from “outstanding” to “good” last month in an Ofsted inspection.

Earlier this year, Yesodey Hatorah was being investigated for blacking-out exam questions in a GCSE science paper taken last October, which were considered by the school to be contrary to its religious teachings.

Last month, Yesodey Hatorah Principal Rabbi Avraham Pinter said he will continue to discourage his pupils from answering “halaichally questionable” exam questions.

 

Ireland: Gay man found guilty of attacking taxi driver

(Published in 2012)

A gay beauty salon worker who beat a Dublin taxi driver, claiming he had made an offensive remark, has been found guilty of assault.

Sean Miller, 29, attacked Cathal Hawkes, 70, causing over €1,500 (£1,210) damage to his taxi in December 2011.

Mr Miller and his partner, Niall Byrne, were holding hands in the back of the cab after returning from a nightclub when the taxi driver allegedly made an offensive remark.

At which point, Mr Byrne opened the door while the car was moving and got out.

 

Employer liable for joke ‘outing’ on Facebook

(Published in 2012)

An employment tribunal in south London has found an employer liable for its employees’ joke ‘outing’ of their manager on Facebook.

The tribunal found that the actions of the fellow employees, logging into a manager’s Facebook account and updating his status, fell “within the course of employment”.

Abraham Otomewo, manager of the Carphone Warehouse in Lewisham was sacked for “gross misconduct” in January 2011 for selling multiple Pay as You Go packages to single customers. The tribunal accepted he should have been dismissed for the misconduct.

However, Otomewo further alleged that he had been harassed on the grounds of sexual orientation for the status update.

Staff at the shop had logged into his iPhone and, impersonating him, updated his status to say: “Finally came out the closet. I am gay and proud”.

Ex-EastEnders actor: I didn’t feel my character was necessary

(Published in 2015)

EastEnders star Sam Strike – who played gay character Johnny Carter on the soap, says he quit the soap because he didn’t think his character was “necessary”.

The 20-year-old joined the BBC soap in December 2013 as Carter, and won acclaim for a storyline that saw him come out to his father, played by Danny Dyer.

However, the star confirmed in November that he would bow out of the soap.

Speaking to Digital Spy, Strike cited a “mixture” of reasons for his decision to quit, including a desire to branch out in acting and “try new things”.

However, he added: “I also didn’t really feel like at the time my character was necessarily needed in EastEnders.”

EastEnders star ‘dumps boyfriend’ over gay S&M porn videos

(Published in 2014)

Newspapers are reporting that EastEnders actress Lorna Fitzgerald has broken up with her boyfriend, after discovering her sports therapist boyfriend in gay porn videos.

A number of tabloids carry reports about Keo Reid, 25, who is shown to be spanked and lashed by various items in a number of videos. In another video, an older man fellates him.

A source told The Sun newspaper: “Lorna’s absolutely distraught because she really loved Keo.

“But she’s only 18 and he’s quite a bit older than her, so this has been too much to take.

“After seeing the videos, she feels she can never go back. It’s any girlfriend’s worst nightmare.”

The videos, one of which shows him naked and being spanked by a mystery man, are available on a porn website which charges users £220 a year to watch in full.

 

Editorial statement: PinkNews receives a vast number of requests from individuals to alter or remove historic articles.

Our policy is to not remove or make alterations to previous articles on request, unless factual inaccuracies are present or we are compelled to do so by a court. We do not make exceptions to this policy, as we feel it would compromise the integrity of our journalism, and our value as a historic record.

PinkNews stands by all of the above listed stories, which we believe to be factually accurate. No one has raised any concerns with PinkNews about the accuracy of any of the articles in question.

While the media has a legal obligation to be factually correct, the ‘right to be forgotten’ as established by the European Court of Justice instead hinges on the  loosely-worded concept of ‘relevance’.

PinkNews believes these rules are an infringement on press freedom, and have a chilling effect on freedom of speech.

Given this, we will continue to re-publish lists of content that has been removed from search engines in Europe.

We have no doubt that this article itself may soon find itself removed from Google and Bing in Europe.

The following 19 URLs were removed:

Islamic extremist who brands homosexuality a sin to give evidence at sex education inquiry
Gay porn star jailed after trying to smuggle crystal meth in his anus
EastEnders star cut from Children in Need quiz after offending S Club 7 with anti-gay joke
Football fans convicted for homophobic jibes in landmark case
Eastenders star ‘dumps boyfriend’ over gay S&M porn videos
Ex-EastEnders actor: I didn’t feel my character was necessary
Employer liable for joke ‘outing’ on Facebook
Ireland: Gay man found guilty of attacking taxi driver
Humanists complain to Ofsted over Jewish school that brands being gay against its ‘ethos’
Gay and straight students marry in the name of art
Lesbian wins tribunal case against Next
Gay man loses police discrimination case
English traffic officers visit pride event for the first time
Lesbian immigrant has right to family life, judge says
School asks students to support trans staff member
Human rights group urges government to stop gay deportation
Topic: Duncan Railton
Police called to O2 restaurant after mum complains of gay porn on computer screen
Former gay porn star becomes firefighter