Have you ever Googled yourself and discovered incorrect or out-of-date information?
It may be ancient history and no longer reflect who you are today, but it still appears prominently in Google search results.
Everyone makes errors. Should a person be punished for a mistake made years or decades ago because of websites indexed by search engines like Google?
Several countries, including those in the European Union, support “right to be forgotten” safeguards. (RTBF)
It is the ability for a person to request that Google deindex pages contain their name or specific incidents involving them.
The information remains on the original sites, but it will not appear in Google’s index, making it less likely to be seen.
Google recently released a video reminding people about this law, as well as step-by-step instructions for requesting content removals under the right to be forgotten.
Here’s more information on RTBF, as well as key highlights from Google’s video.
What Exactly Is a “Right to Be Forgotten?”
The exact laws of each country that supports RTBF differ, but the concept is that under certain conditions, personal information about a person can be removed from search results.
A person, for example, commits a crime, is convicted, and serves their sentence. They want to apply for a job a few decades later, but an Internet search reveals the arrest. The employer rejects the potential employee despite the fact that they have lived a lawful life since.
There is a conflict between the right to privacy and the right to express oneself freely. According to Middle Tennessee State University, a European Union judge established a precedent in 2014 when a Spanish lawyer requested that websites referencing a prior debt be deindexed.
A person may want search pages removed for a variety of reasons, including scandal, embarrassment, bad judgments, and so on, or anything else that may interfere with their ability to live a normal life.
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act in the United Kingdom states that criminal convictions should not be considered after a certain time frame for conditions such as employment and insurance. Transparency and the right to free speech reign supreme in the United States, but RTBF is a human right in the European Union.
To determine whether a request is eligible for RBTF, the following criteria are used:
- Is the information correct?
- Is the information sufficient?
- Is the information pointless?
- Is the amount of information excessive?
- Is there a public interest in making the information available?
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How to Remove Information
If you live in a country that allows RTBF, you can request that Google remove specific pages for a specific search query, such as a name. This is not to say that the pages will not appear in other search results.
The “right to be forgotten” is not recognized in the United States because it infringes on First Amendment rights and freedom of expression.
If a person created the content, they cannot apply for removal. When a person creates a website or a social media account, they have the ability to change the security settings or remove the website. The website must be from a third party, such as a news outlet.
The first step is to navigate to g.co/legal and select Google Search. You must provide proof that you are the person who is in charge of the pages.
Check your personal information and the “right to be forgotten” for the reason for the removal. Fill out all of the required information, such as the website address, personal information, and specific search queries. The more information Google has, the better it will be able to decide.
Google sends you an email confirming receipt of your request, and the decision-making process begins. The process isn’t automated, and at least one reviewer looks over each request, but the amount of time it takes to make a decision varies depending on the request.
The main issue is how the request balances public interest versus privacy rights. For example, if a prominent public figure involved in a scandal demanded that websites be removed, the outcome would be negative due to public interest and information.
Other considerations include:
- Position in public life
- The source of the information
- What is its age?
- Concerns about privacy
If the request is approved, only the URLs from the countries involved are removed. If a person from the EU requests that URLs be removed, Google removes them from the EU countries’ listings but not from the US or other countries’ listings.
If the request is denied, the individual may file an appeal with the country’s data privacy division.
Abuse of RBTF
Reputation management is big business, and not everyone uses RTBF as effectively as they should. Some have attempted to make multiple requests from various perspectives in order to increase their chances of approval.
Businesses that received negative reviews attempted to have the URLs removed as well, but were generally unsuccessful.
What if you live in the United States or another non-RBTF country?
Google allows people to make requests in the United States, but the petitioner must explain what law allows them to remove the URLs. There are some safeguards in place for victims of revenge porn in the United States. In general, there is little that can be done to delist pages in non-RBTF companies.
This is still a contentious issue, and legislators are debating the legality of information privacy, so this may change in the future.
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