Protect privacy: Letter to BS on firms brace for Europe's new rules

European Court of Justice recently decided that EU citizens had the "right to be forgotten" and that search giants would have to comply if they wanted to continue to do business in Europe

I refer to “Firms brace for Europe’s new rules” (January 30). Tech giants and some others positioned themselves as catalysts for a better world. But their systems and tools have also been used to undermine privacy and thus the basic right of the citizens in a democracy. Essentially, the search engine giants create a personality profile based on what we have been up to — and use this to send specific adverts. The information so gathered is used forever. Given that personal data constitutes the lifeline of governments and internet companies such as Google and Facebook tech companies and intelligence