The right to be forgotten allows your data to stop appearing in search engines when it's no longer relevant. Here's how to request it and what to do if it's refused.
What is the right to be forgotten?
The right to be forgotten (or right to erasure) is recognised in Article 17 of the GDPR and was defined by the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2014 in the Google Spain case (C-131/12): a search engine must remove links to personal information from its results when that information is inadequate, excessive or no longer relevant, balancing the individual's right against the public interest.
What content can be delisted?
In general, you can request the delisting of:
- Old news stories about arrests without conviction or dismissed cases.
- Sanctions, fines or seizures already resolved and published in official gazettes.
- Outdated information that harms your reputation or employment.
- Intimate or defamatory content published without consent.
How to request it from Google
Google offers an official information removal form ('Remove information you see in Google Search') where you must provide the exact URL, your country and the reasons. The legal grounds text is key: cite Article 17 of the GDPR and explain why the data is inadequate, excessive or irrelevant to the purpose for which it was published.
What if Google refuses?
You can complain to the relevant authority: in the United States, your state Attorney General or the FTC; in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO); in the EU, your national data protection authority. These bodies can order the search engine to delist, and their decisions carry real weight. Court action is also possible, preferably with legal assistance.
Practical tips
- Locate all the exact URLs you want delisted before you start.
- Save screenshots of each result as evidence.
- Also request delisting from Bing, which has its own procedure.
- Be patient: timeframes are measured in weeks, not days.