European Union (EU) privacy watchdogs invited Google Inc to a meeting next week over concerns about its implementation of the new "right to be forgotten" ruling and conflicts in applying the rule.

The EU invited search giants Google, Yahoo Inc, and Microsoft Corp to a discussion about the May court decision that grants people the right to request search companies to delete information about them from Internet search results, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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Regulators are pressuring Google ahead of the meeting to stop sending notifications to websites each time it removes the link to a page, a source familiar with the situation said. The officials say it impairs their right to be forgotten.

Microsoft confirmed its attendance for the meeting. Google and Yahoo, on the other hand, vowed cooperation with privacy authorities but did not comment on the scheduled meeting.

The recent ruling created conflicting views on where freedom of speech crosses right to online privacy. Those who support the court decision said a check on search giants is long overdue, while those who support free speech said it was just a way to cover up negative information available on the Web.

Privacy officials brought up the issue of Google's refusal to erase names from the results in its main search engine. The Internet giant preferred to remove name searches only from its European search engines such as google.fr and google.com.uk.

Google started applying the new court ruling by removing links and notifying those websites which link was removed. However, the firm did not include in the notifications the name of the person who requested the link removal.

The disclosures made the May ruling controversial with some people calling for a change in some of the decisions because Google is now suppressing the news. In some instances, the person requesting the link removal was identified, and this created issues about the "right to be forgotten."

According to journalism advocates, authorities could force Google to stop sending notifications about the removals, but this could make the search engine more powerful. John Battle, the head of legal compliance in ITN news, explained that if the notifications stop, no one will be able to challenge Google's decisions.

Regulators also questioned whether Google gives sufficient explanations when it turns down requests for removal, especially when public interest is the center of the issue.

Officials cited one situation in Ireland where the search company rejected a request to delete a link to an article that contains embarrassing information about that person. Based on a French letter reviewed by the WSJ, Google explained in one paragraph that the link could be used by people who may want to use a person's "professional services."

TagsRight to Be Forgotten, EU, Freedom of Speech, Right to Privacy