When the European Court of Justice made a ruling in favour of a Spanish citizen who wanted an article removed from their search listings it caused a new wave of similar demands from individual's intent on concealing their past by removing links from Google. It had been possible since Google was first created to ask for content or links to be removed however since this ruling the search engine has received over 30 million deletion requests.
The article in question was a digitized version of a print story from 1998 and since that ruling 'right to be forgotten' has received widespread attention. From a legal standpoint we can define this as a separate entity from the right to privacy. Rather it should fall under the category of the right to conceal past events in life that have been dealt with and are no longer on going. The 1998 article in question related to a debt that had been paid.
How easy is it to delete links from Google though, how can it be done and what does this mean from a legal standpoint?
Deleting Content From Google
For the time being the law and the ability to remove information from Google online applies to companies or websites that are based or hosted within the jurisdiction of the EU and Argentina.
It is not possible to have any link or content removed from Google for no good reason. Indeed, the more complex cases require a right to be forgotten lawyer who will be able to provide expert help on case law for instance. For now though you can request that Google take down links that display events or actions from your past that hinder the development of your future life.
How To Remove Links From Google
To request that Google look into taking down a link to a piece of content then you need to undertake the following actions:
Get the Google Right To Be Forgotten form
Complete the details of the individual that the content relates to
Fill in information about your legal representative (recommended)
List all the links that this content appears on
Explain why you want this information removed
Provide a copy/image of your passport
Send the form to Google to analyse and process.
The Future Of Right To Be Forgotten
For legal professionals how this impacts on future law is very interesting,
In some quarters there is a demand that this be enshrined as a universal human right. The right to privacy is well documented in many jurisdictions and right to be forgotten this differs somewhat there is a growing consensus that it should be adopted across the world. On the other hand many opponents express concerns that it can lead to a decrease in content quality online and that it could lead to a rewriting of history for certain individuals.
For the time being it is recommended that you seek legal help when submitting a right to be forgotten request to have the best possible chance of success.
To speak with a solicitor today call 02077925649
