EU court orders Google to delete inaccurate search results

The European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that Google has to delete search results if individuals can prove that the information they contain is incorrect. Two managers at a group of investment companies (neither the managers nor the companies have been publicly identified) filed a complaint with Germany’s highest court after they asked Google to remove search results containing what they claimed was inaccurate information about their investment model. Google refused to remove the search results because the company did not know for certain they were inaccurate. The case made its way to the European Court of Justice, which has now issued its ruling.

What did personal information protection look like in Europe before this decision? The Court of Justice, which is the European Union’s top court, already recognized what has come to be referred to as the “right to be forgotten” in 2014. That right grants Europeans the ability to ask Google to remove either outdated or embarrassing information about themselves from the internet, even if it is true. But that right only applies to the 27 nations that are a part of the European Union. It also only applies to searches where the person’s name is used—in searches relying on other terms, the search results may still appear.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report in WORLD Magazine about an app that allows students and teachers to report suspicious behavior to the government.