Google’s under-the-radar tool Refresh Outdated Content allowed virtually any user to remove search results from Google — even if they didn’t own or control the content.
The tool was originally developed to let users report outdated web pages or broken links, such as URLs leading to 404 error pages. There were no high-profile public announcements of the feature, but it can be found in Google’s official Help Center.
To use it, Google requires users to log into their account, submit the link they wish to remove, and wait for the request to be reviewed. According to the official policy, the tool is not intended for removing false, illegal, or personal content.
However, users discovered an unusual vulnerability that allowed anyone to delete any link from search results. By slightly altering the URL — for example, changing a few letters to uppercase — the algorithm would interpret the page as unavailable or broken and remove it accordingly.
This exploit was reportedly used by Maury Blackman, CEO of the U.S. company Premise Data Corp., who successfully removed negative articles about himself using this loophole.
After researchers noticed the disappearance of certain results, they contacted Google. The company confirmed the existence of the vulnerability and restored the removed links to the search index.
Source: https://freedom.press/issues/censorship-whac-a-mole-google-search-exploited-to-scrub-articles-on-san-francisco-tech-exec/
