KJK Internet Defamation & Content Removal Attorney Ali Arko was recently featured on Courthouse News Service’s Sidebar podcast, in their episode titled “The Right To Be Forgotten.” Ali discussed current privacy laws in the United States, freedom of information and her ongoing work as a Defamation and Content Removal Attorney.
Her segment begins at roughly the 16:58 mark. View the transcript below:
Producer: What is the current State of US content regulation?
Ali Arko: When you’re talking about the right to be forgotten, you’re really talking about privacy laws. And, in the United States, we do have privacy laws, but we really value the First Amendment and the freedom of speech over the right to privacy. Which, I think is the big difference between our privacy laws in the United State versus in the EU.
Hi, my name is Ali Arko and I’m an attorney at Kohrman Jackson & Krantz in Ohio. I focus my practice primarily on internet defamation and content removal. So, anything that relates to an internet issue, defamation occurring online, or any sort of internet content popping up in search results that is harming someone.
Producer: Ali works on the frontline of helping people regain control over their online presence.
Ali Arko: For the most part, people that come to me that are looking to have the content removed are doing it because they are at a point of desperation; they’re not able to work, they can’t secure employment, they can’t financially support themselves because content is so damaging. It’s complicated, because there’s definitely an inherent value to the public, for there to be freedom of information and a free flow of truthful facts, really, on the internet. But there’s also a point where people are harmed and can’t attain work when they have negative content posted about them on the internet.
There’s also information that might have been true at the time, but it’s no longer true. So, for example, if someone is charged with a crime, and they got exonerated in court, it’s true that they were charges for that crime. So, there could be a news article saying they were charged, with no follow-up. And that could be really damaging, even if a person was falsely accused and was completely exonerated in court. So, I think that there’s definitely situations where content should be removed, and I think it’s complicated to think about all the different ways that this can happen. I think specifically for minors this is a huge issue that is really only growing as our lives on the internet grows.
Producer: Alright, so laws in the US primarily back the content providers and the Fist Amendment, but you can still get content removed from the internet. How does that work?
Ali Arko: I would say it really depends on the type of content you’re talking about, but, if you’re talking about revenge porn, that may be easier to remove than a photo that someone consented to be posted on the internet. If you’re talking about a news article, an article that’s old, an article that’s related to something that was expunged or sealed, those would be easier to remove. But I think there are also certain things subject matter-wise, that are more difficult to remove. And that would be anything related to a financial crime, anything related to something sexual in nature, anything that’s gone viral and a huge difficulty, actually, in content removal, which is interesting, that’s not just United States based, is actually where the contents published. So, if contents published on a US site, they have to adhere to US law. And that makes it a lot easier to retain removal. But the internet is not just domestic. And so, if content is posted on a website that’s hosted overseas, removal efforts may be much more difficult.