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EU court says Google must delete 'irrelevant' data at the request of ordinary individuals EU court says Google must delete 'irrelevant' data at the request of ordinary individuals
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The EU’s top court has backed the online “right to be forgotten”, ruling that Google must remove links in its search results at the request of ordinary peopleThe EU’s top court has backed the online “right to be forgotten”, ruling that Google must remove links in its search results at the request of ordinary people
The European Union Court of Justice ruled this Tuesday that links should be removed on request when they include data that appears to be “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant”. The European Union Court of Justice ruled this Tuesday that links should be taken down on request when they include data that appears to be “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant”.
The court’s decision comes in response to a case bought by a Spanish man Mario Costeja González, who complained that when his name was Googled the only results were with regard to his financial problems in the late 1990s. Google should be "obliged to remove links to web pages" even when the original "publication in itself on those pages is lawful," said a summary of the court's judgement.
This removal should occur “unless there are particular reasons, such as the role played by the data subject in public life, justifying a preponderant interest of the public.”
The decision comes as part of a growing momentum in the EU for even tougher controls over personal data broadly referred to as the "right to erasure".
These proposals, backed by the EU's Civil Liberties Committee, mean that "any person would have the right to have their personal data erased if he/she requests it" and would also apply to companies such as Facebook.
The court’s recent decision comes in response to a case bought by a Spanish man Mario Costeja González, who complained that when his name was Googled the only results were in relation to his financial difficulties in the late 1990s.
Mr González said that a digitized newspaper report referred to him selling off his house to pay off a debt, but that the information was misleading and damaged his business reputation.Mr González said that a digitized newspaper report referred to him selling off his house to pay off a debt, but that the information was misleading and damaged his business reputation.
Google has said that forced removal of data is tantamount to censorship, and that its search engine does not control content online but only links to information uploaded by others. Google, meanwhile, has said that forced removal of data is tantamount to censorship, and that its search engine does not control content online but only links to information uploaded by others.
The court said in its summary that "the effect of the interference with the person’s rights is heightened on account of the important role played by the Internet and search engines in modern society."
It was also mentioned that Google's arguments in favour of retaining links to data could not "be justified by merely the economic interest which the operator of the engine has in the data processing."