Have you ever wondered how to erase personal information from the internet? If yes, then you have come to the perfect place.
We have been providing online reputation management services for many years. In our years of experience, we have noticed that clients are unduly harmed by negative content on the internet. Erasing such content is extremely important for reputation repair.
In this article, we discuss everything you need to know about how to erase personal information from the internet.
Contents
How To Erase Personal Information From Internet Using Customer Support
The first strategy in how to erase personal information from the internet is by using the customer support service of different platforms.
Search engine platforms such as Google and Bing understand that a lot of negative content is being uploaded on the internet. Therefore, they have developed strict terms and conditions which need to be followed.
Similarly, social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram also have strict terms and conditions. They do not allow any kind of nudity, hate speech, defamation, harassment, or any other act which can harm the user. You can directly report the presence of negative content, and the platform will take immediate action against it.
How To Erase Personal Information From Internet Using Law
If you do not succeed in erasing information by submitting a voluntary request or getting customer support, then it’s about time you consider some alternatives. There are many other strategies in any guide on how to erase personal information from the internet.
Legal Notice
The first step in how to erase personal information from the internet using the law is by sending legal notices. This is a very effective way of communicating directly with the publisher. This works particularly well if the publisher is an individual.
All you need to do is hire a lawyer and explain the circumstances to her. The lawyer will then research the applicable laws and accordingly send a legal notice. The publisher will see this notice as a warning before a lawsuit.
If it is an independent publisher, then there is a very good chance that the content will be taken down immediately. However, this might not be enough for large media company’s news websites.
Lawsuits
If the legal notice does not work, the next step in how to erase personal information from the internet using the law is to file a lawsuit. There are various laws that can be used to remove personal information.
For example, if the content published against you is false in nature, you can file a defamation suit. By doing this, you can directly claim civil and criminal penalties from the publisher.
On the other hand, there might be cases when negative content is uploaded only to harass you. In such a situation, the appropriate action would be to claim damages for harassment.
These are only some examples of potential lawsuits. You will be surprised to note that there are many more legal actions that can be taken. This ranges from filing lawsuits for obscenity to hate speech.
GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation provides the right to be forgotten. This is a great strategy in the guide on how to erase personal information from the internet. However, this is only available in some countries.
As per the right to be forgotten, an individual can file an oral or written request for the removal of personal information. There are many grounds under which such a right can be claimed. This includes the following:
- The data was collected without consent.
- The data does not serve the purpose for which it was collected.
- The collection of data is against the public interest.
- The data is collected in violation of the law.
FAQ
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How do I remove my personal information from the internet for free?
There are three ways in any guide on how to erase personal information from the internet: you can directly contact the publisher, file a complaint on the platform where content is published, or request erasure under GDPR.
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Can you delete all your information from the internet?
Deleting all information from the internet is nearly impossible unless you decide to hire a hacker. However, you can remove information to a large extent.
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How do I block my information on Google?
The major part of learning how to erase personal information from the internet is focused on Google. You can either do it by reporting the content to the website or filing a lawsuit.
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How do I erase online information?
There are many ways of erasing online information. If you are in the EU, then you should file a right to be forgotten request before anything else. Otherwise, you can contact customer support or take legal action if necessary.
