The European Union’s top court this week ruled that Google and other Internet search providers must honor certain individuals’ requests to remove links to personal information appearing in search results.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) essentially upheld the so-called “right to be forgotten,” which gives users the right to ask that personal information about them be removed from search results if, as the ruling stated, the information is “inadequate, irrelevant, or no longer relevant.” The court said the right applies even in cases where the information is not erased beforehand or simultaneously from the web pages themselves, and even when the information’s publication on those web pages is lawful. The ruling distinguishes between private citizens versus those considered to be public figures.
