A Case Study about Non-Consensual Content Removal from Search Engines

Issue

Snapdragon Media was approached by a client who was facing a distressing situation involving unauthorised online content. The content was related to cosmetic surgery, which unfortunately went wrong. Images showcasing her personal features had been published online without her consent. These images with articles written about her were not only causing significant mental distress but also negatively impacting her online presence, affecting both her family and professional life.

The situation was exacerbated by the fact that the content had been mass-produced and distributed to multiple websites without her knowledge or permission. This widespread issue made the task of content removal particularly challenging and urgent.

What Actions Did Snapdragon Take

Our team promptly initiated a comprehensive removal strategy, starting with an outlook to find and collate any reference to the infringing content. Once the investigation was conducted and reviewed, multiple removal requests were made to three major search engines – Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The goal was to eliminate the unauthorised content from search results associated under our client’s name, thereby reducing its visibility and impact.

Results

Snapdragon Media’s efforts proved highly successful. In total, Snapdragon Media’s intervention resulted in the removal of 1200 links and images of content that had been published without consent from the UK’s most used search engines. This extensive removal operation demonstrates the scale of the issue and the thoroughness of Snapdragon Media’s approach. What this meant for the client was that the content was no longer visible to the public when searching for the client’s name, significantly reducing its reach and potential for harm. As a result, the client was thoroughly happy with our work, significantly improving her mental state and reducing her anxiety and discomfort to nought.

Whilst great results were achieved, there is potential for content to be published without the client’s consent. As a result, the client opted for Snapdragon Media to monitor her search results until no new infringing content could be found for a period of time.