What Can Be Removed?
We divide unwanted information into several main types. Different removal methods are applied depending on the type.
- User-generated content
Posted by regular users on public platforms: blogs, social networks, forums, video hosting sites, comments, and reviews.
Content removal occurs by contacting the website administration. Such sites are usually owned by companies, so the administration is willing to resolve disputes, as otherwise it risks legal action against the company. Therefore, administrators typically prefer to remove disputed materials out of court.
Try to Remove It Yourself
VK — contact VK support and request removal of unwanted information. Support agents usually respond within 24 hours and are generally cooperative.
Odnoklassniki — submit a request to OK.ru support specifying "Profile Removal" in the category.
If the website administration refuses to remove content, we are ready to help resolve the issue. For removing content from popular sites like VK.com, Odnoklassniki, YouTube, we have developed an algorithm that allows disputes to be resolved quickly, even if site support ignores removal requests.
- Private websites
Information is posted either with the owner’s consent or by the owner themselves. If the administrator outright refuses to remove disputed information, there are several options:
We identify the owner of the website. For domains with hidden WHOIS data, we perform WHOIS disclosure for direct contact with the owner. We assess the disputed content for violations of the domain zone regulations. If violations are found, we submit a request to de-delegate the domain name.
- News websites
Sites registered as mass media in Russia comply with Russian law. If the unwanted information violates the law, removal is handled within the legal framework. If the site is not subject to Russian law, the same methods as for private sites are applied.
These categories describe only the main types of harmful information. In non-standard cases, our lawyers will study the situation and propose a removal plan. Consultation and preliminary assessment are free of charge.
Where to Start?
The main difficulty in removing information lies in the decentralized nature of the internet. Companies managing network services, such as domain registrars, hosting providers, and ISPs, may be located in different countries. Due to differences in laws and procedures, companies are often reluctant to cooperate and sometimes completely ignore foreign requests. Since international internet legislation is still developing, it is difficult to sue a foreign company.
Before starting removal, you need to determine:
- Is it a private site or owned by a company?
Every website is registered to someone. It can be an individual (a regular person) or a company. Private individuals may hide their data in domain privacy settings, making it difficult to find the site administrator. Companies are always required to provide the legal entity details, so their contact information is always available.
This determines how contact with the website owner will proceed. If the owner is hidden, you first need to locate them before requesting content removal.
Communication with companies will be conducted through lawyers with an official request to remove content from the site.
- In which country is the site or company registered?
If the site is registered to a company or individual located in Russia, the task is simpler, as filing a lawsuit, if necessary, is straightforward. Sites registered with foreign registrars are much harder to force to remove information. To make a claim, it is necessary to study the laws of the country where they are located and the possibility of legal action.
- Does the information violate the law?
If the website author refuses to voluntarily remove information, it is necessary to determine whether there are grounds to request removal through the court. This may include false information, defamation, materials that harm honor and dignity, personal data that cannot be shared, violation of correspondence privacy, and so on.
What Cannot Be Removed
If unwanted information has become widely circulated, for example, a high-profile news story covered by the media, it is usually futile to attempt to remove all mentions. It is duplicated on aggregator sites and spread by users.
In such cases, it is better to push out unwanted information with positive or neutral content by promoting new materials to the top positions in search engines. We call this service creating a positive online image. For example, interviews, articles, and biographies can be promoted instead of scandals.
Remove from Search
When removing the original source is difficult, it is possible to remove links from search engines like Google and Yandex. The original information remains accessible, but it cannot be found through search. This is regulated by the “right to be forgotten” law.
Possible Risks
It should be noted that a poorly executed removal attempt can have the opposite effect — a phenomenon known as the “Streisand Effect.”
Wikipedia — The term "Streisand Effect" describes a phenomenon where attempts to remove information from the internet only lead to its wider dissemination.
It got its name from an incident involving American singer Barbra Streisand, who sued a photographer from the website Pictopia.com seeking $50 million because a photo of her home on the California coastline was published among thousands of other coastal photos. As a result of the high-profile lawsuit, the photo, which had previously been virtually unknown, became widely popular on the internet.