Google and the Right to be Forgotten

Google and the right to be forgotten have been the center of a lot of public debate. Google v. Spain was the first case that conceptualized the right to be forgotten.

In this article, we provide a guide on Google and the right to be forgotten.

Google and the Right to be Forgotten Case

Google and the right to be forgotten is primarily talked about in reference to the Google v. Spain case. In this case, Google argued that as a search engine that does not commercially benefit from sharing information should not be liable under data protection laws. The contention of Google was that it only shares information and does not create any information.

Google argued that the right to be forgotten could not be applied against it. Instead, it can only be used against companies that directly store or process personal information for commercial benefit.

The European Court of Justice disagreed with Google’s argument. The Court of Justice held that search engines such as Google use personal information of individuals for running advertisements. This means that the search engine is benefiting from personal information.

The Court of Justice held that the right to be forgotten could be exercised against Google. It laid down the following conditions for the same:

• The information should be inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant, or excessive.
• The request should be raised directly to Google to hide a URL.
• Google will have to hide the URL when the search is conducted for the name of the individual.
• Google will not be expected to permanently remove the URL. It can still be visible for other keywords.

Google and the Right to be Forgotten in the EU

Google and the right to be forgotten in the EU is quite interesting. The right is applicable against Google, just like any other company. If a request is raised, Google will have to address it within 30 days.

There are two ways to exercise the right to be forgotten against Google. You can either fill the Personal Information Removal Form. Once you have filled the form, Google’s representatives will review it and come to a conclusion. If they are satisfied with the reasons provided by you, they will remove the URL from search results.

You also have the option to submit a right to be forgotten request in an oral or written manner. This can be anything like an email or a letter. If you decide to do the same, you need to be mindful of the information you include in such a request.

• The name, contact information, address, and email ID of the person submitting the request. Along with this, the government issued an identity card and proof of address.
• The name and personal details of the data subject. This is only applicable if the person is something information and the data subject to different persons. Further, similar to the informant, the government-issued ID card and proof of address of the data subject needs to be submitted.
• The details of the information need to be removed. This needs to be very specific. If you only want a URL of a picture or a video to be removed, the same needs to be specified in your request.
• The reason for requesting the removal of information.
• A declaration that all the information mentioned in the request is correct.

FAQ

1. How do I exercise the right to be forgotten against Google?

You can directly fill the Personal Information Of Removal form or contact Google support and request removal of information.

2. What is meant by the right to be forgotten?

The right to be forgotten provides individuals with greater control over their personal information. You can submit a right to be forgotten request for permanent removal of your information from any search engine or website.

3. How do I submit a right to be forgotten request?

The right to be forgotten request can be submitted in an oral or written format. You can either contact the customer support of a company or any employee of the company.

4. What are Google and the right to be forgotten case?

The google in the right to be forgotten case imposed the right against Google and other search engines.