It is generally accepted that the global network, like your mother, remembers everything shameful and intimate. “Nothing can be removed from the Internet” is a popular expression. And hopelessly outdated: in 2018, you can remove everything from the Internet. This is used by politicians, businessmen, private companies and even ordinary citizens. How to whitewash your reputation and how much it costs.
The power of the law
It would seem, what is the problem? Well, a man erased a snapshot ten years ago, as he tried to ride a neighbor's shepherd while drunk. Big deal. However, there is a bigger problem here than it seems at first glance: if actions do not leave a trace in history, you can not be responsible for them. So there is no reason to worry about reputation. It is not for nothing that the World Wide Web has always been considered a kind of archivist: if you need to pull out a folder with a dashing past from a dusty shelf, the Internet will come to the rescue. Now this institution is in doubt - you can not trust anything. You go under the knife of a surgeon who sent several patients to the next world over the past year, but you do not know about it, because all links have been removed. Paradise for scammers of all stripes: you can reach the bottom, but then whitewash your reputation and embark on the development of new depths.
In 2016, the State Duma adopted the "Law on Oblivion", or rather, amended the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection" and the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. This allowed mere mortals to request the removal of compromising information from search services. However, there are nuances - search engines often cannot verify whether your claims are legitimate: whether the data that you use as proof of your innocence is reliable.
Therefore, the lion's share of applicants is refused - about 70-75%. Back in early 2016, Yandex published statistics: more than 3600 requests from 1348 Russians, 73% of them were not satisfied. Google has slightly more requests, but the figure is almost the same - 73.2%. However, as Orwell wrote, all animals are equal, but some are more equal, so someone with this law is still lucky. The entrepreneur Sergei Mikhailov, known as "Mikhas", took care of his reputation in 2016. And by his will, the search results hid part of the results, which dealt with the alleged criminal past of the businessman. In the same year, the "Law of Oblivion" was successfully applied by skinheads: "Google" and "Yandex" hid the links, which contained information about their violations of 2006 and 2008.
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Forget everything
The matter is not limited to one amendment to the Federal Law. Then the private business comes into play, which for money will clean everything that the "cleaner" can reach. Of course, such firms can remove customized attacks from competitors, but also hide real compromising evidence. Digital expert Elena Torshina described such a case: a top manager left a well-known company and began to pour slop on the former employer for good reason. When the image losses reached critical levels, the reputation agency got down to business. After six months of active work on reviews and search results, the brand was returned to its "good" name. And consumers again happily carried the money.
So reputational agencies are like devil's advocates who whitewash villains? Or is it just a philistine point of view and everything is much more complicated? To understand the intricacies of this craft, we spoke with Arseniy Katkov, CEO of reputation.moscow.
Contrary to stereotypes, it is not only high-ranking officials and businessmen who care about online prestige - there are also enough mere mortals.
Are politicians appealing? Our interlocutor claims that not as often as one might think. But they come in:
How do reputation agencies work in general? Katkov assures that they do without the intervention of hackers, soldering irons and the very amendment to the Federal Law.
Clearing network karma is relatively expensive. “We have clients of completely different levels, so checks can reach several million rubles,” Katkov comments. If we are not talking about a large-scale campaign, then the restoration of a good name can be pulled even by an ordinary Russian: "The price tags start at 40 thousand rubles - it is acceptable if the negative really interferes with life."
What if you still want to find the information you are looking for? “Search and search again,” says the expert. Social media, profile forums and any issue pages other than the first one will lead you to the desired result. In addition, do not forget about the Web Archive and the darknet: things that have disappeared from a prominent place often get there.
Small man
But this is more for "celestials", or very neglected cases. But what should a mere mortal do when his intimate photos, for example, are leaked to the social network? Or a repairman competitor left a bunch of bad reviews. Not everyone can lay out forty thousand, and where is the guarantee of success? A specialist from a reputational agency gave us some tips on how to get rid of negativity at home.
Of course, if a former love has posted candid pictures, you need to go not to private traders, but to the police. However, no one bothers to try to negotiate with the owner of the images, as well as with the site administration. The latter must meet halfway, because the case is criminalized.
In the case of a simpler situation - for example, you were "just" slandered by a dishonest competitor - you can beat the negative with a lot of good reviews. Ask friends and family for help with the image. Another move is to offer the site administration some privileges in exchange for deleting information: advertising or promotion. Again, do not forget about establishing a dialogue: you can always negotiate with the author of defamatory materials.
Another era
It seems that we are on the verge of a new time. Since ancient times, it has been believed that honor is the most valuable resource. Money and a position can be returned, but with a reputation, such a trick will not work - she remained with the person forever. But that was before. Now any offense can, if not erase, then hide from sight: you will not even know what your interlocutor did several years ago.
Author: Galina Saldan