Tuesday brought smiles across the faces of many in the European Union with its top court announcing that people can now ask Google to delete “Sensitive information” about their personal selves.
The ruling came after a Spanish man complained to the Spanish data protection agency on an auction notice of his home, that ended up in Google’s search results though he had bought it back. This act had supposedly breached his privacy which made him want the data to be removed from the web.
This was one of the many cases filed by those who wanted their personal information be deleted. The company though states that such forced removal amounts to censorship.
The judges, of a Luxembourg-based European Union Court of Justice (ECJ), said that if a search made on the concerned individuals name resulted in a link that would give away their personal information, the individual may approach the operator directly and get the link removed or in whose denial they may resort to the competent authorities. The judiciaries also added that the internet search engine was the one responsible for processing of such personal data published by third parties .
Given the rule pertains only to those belonging to the European Union, the case saw the win of those rooting for privacy and advocating for the removal of one’s digital traces on the internet.