Last week the European Union’s Court of Justice ordered Google to grant people the right to be forgotten, giving people the ability to have themselves removed from search results that are “inadequate, irrelevant, or no longer relevant, or excessive in relation to the purposes for which they were processed.”

People living, or doing business in Europe, are likely the primary beneficiaries of the current ruling; Americans, however, may benefit indirectly as discussion reignites about privacy laws on our side of the Atlantic.

The ruling should also serve as a serious wake up call to everyone about the privacy of his or her information. People should realize that many privacy protections that Americans believe that they enjoy – even some guaranteed by law – have, in fact, been eroded or even obliterated by technological advances. The following are some examples, but in no way form a comprehensive list. Hopefully they will serve as “food for thought” inspiring conversations and discussions, as well as a catalyst for people to consider adjusting their behavior to improve their own privacy:

Many people rely on the protections of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. They understand that if they fail to pay creditors on time that information will appear on their credit reports and their credit scores will drop. But, they also know that, by law, adverse information comes off of reports – and is ignored when calculating scores – after a period of time. So, someone not looking to purchase a home or car for some time may not be terribly scared of being late on a few payments, and someone considering foreclosure or bankruptcy in order to “start over” understands that the law pretty much assures him that after several years of fiscal responsibility (and certainly no more than a decade) he will be able to borrow once again.