The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on Thursday that Google will have to remove data from its online search results if any user can prove that it is accurate. This was a major boost for privacy rights and free speech activists who have been asking for people’s “right to be forgotten” online.
“The operator of a search engine must de-reference information found in the referenced content where the person requesting de-referencing proves that such information is manifestly inaccurate,” the Court of Justice of the European Union said in its judgement according to Associated Press.
There have been demands from various groups about the removal of any trace of their online presence but the judgement will help them in strengthening their case from a factual standpoint. The decision came in a case concerning two investment company executives who wanted Google to remove certain articles about their investment model – information that they proved to be “incorrect”.
As part of the judgement, the thumbnails of the concerned news articles will also have to be changed with no traces of the two individuals. While Google had initially refused the request, the judgement is seen to be a middle ground for the right to be forgotten and the right to freedom of expression.
In the aftermath of the judgement, Google said that the thumbnails were already removed and the rest of the judgement will be implemented in the coming days by all related search engines.
“Since 2014, we’ve worked hard to implement the right to be forgotten in Europe, and to strike a sensible balance between people’s rights of access to information and privacy,” a spokesperson said.
