Google must delete those embarrassing links about you, says European court
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Google must honor your "right to be forgotten," the European Union's highest court ruled Tuesday. Put simply, the European Court of Justice said the behemoth search engine must honor requests that it remove from its pool of results links to embarrassing content about people — even if the original publication of that information is perfectly legal.
The ruling does not mean Europeans can force Google to nix any old information about them. Rather, it pertains to outdated or sensitive information unless, as the court put it, "there are particular reasons, such as the role played by the data subject in public life, justifying a preponderant interest of the public."
Meaning, a private person could probably get Google to dump a link about that time he went streaking, but a politician wouldn't be able to nix links to stories about his malfeasance.
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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