EU court backs "right to be forgotten"

In a verdict that could have implications for any organisation that collects personal information, the EU’s Court of Justice has issued a controversial verdict backing the “right to be forgotten” online.

The court held that Google must remove links to two pages from the digitised archives of the Spanish-language La Vanguardia related to the plaintiff, Mario Costeja González.

The pages detail the repossession of Costeja González’s home to recover social security debts. The court found that because Google processes data including personal data, it is bound by an EU data protection directive which establishes a right to be forgotten.

The case could set a precedent with wide-reaching implications for search engines and other online companies. IEEE Spectrum notes that there are more than 200 cases pending in Spain alone in which Spanish citizens are attempting to compel Google to delete search results relating to them.

In addition, the verdict could open the floodgates to numerous more cases across the European Union.

But the ruling acknowledges that a delicate balance will need to be struck between an individual’s desire to privacy and the public interest. It stipulates that that balance may depend in some cases on the nature of the information and whether the person seeking to have it removed is a public figure.

Incidentally, Costeja González’s case is a perfect example of the ‘Streisand effect’, whereby attempts to suppress online information inadvertently result in it being spread far wider than it had been initially. His case has been widely reported in the media, and the reports invariably include the details of the repossession that he sought to suppress.

Image courtesy of g4ll4is under CC