How do I get information about me deleted by a search engine?

Do you remember this beautiful photo, taken when you were fourteen, wearing perfectly fitting braces, and which was published on your former college's website? Or maybe this newspaper article recounting your fall into a lake on your birthday, requiring the intervention of the local fire brigade?

If you have tried and succeeded in forgetting these difficult times, search engines will have less pity for your reputation on the Internet. When a page is indexed, the information that appears on it remains forever accessible on the Internet, with a simple search range. This could pose a credibility problem if you are looking for a management position in an international company!

However, nothing is lost. There are several ways to get rid of, or at the very least remove, results that could be harmful to you when a search is done on your name.

At first, as is often the case, the best strategy to protect your e-reputation is to contact the publisher of the website in order to have the information removed.

If that is not enough, a Google Spain decision, of the Court of Justice of the European Union, of 13 May 2014, now allows any natural person, under certain conditions, to obtain the removal of the referencing of certain information concerning them by search engines. The term right to be forgotten is used frequently. However, in reality, it is rather a right to the de-referencing of personal data.

How do I get data deleted by a website?

If a website contains information that may be harmful to you, it is good practice to contact the publisher of the site to ask him to delete it. In most cases, you will be able to find contact information in the site's legal notice or on a page specifically allocated for this purpose.

If it's about personal data, the data may be removed from the site, at your request, on the basis of Information Technology and Freedoms Act of 1978.

However, it should be noted that if this information is not illegal or does not infringe on your privacy, the publisher of the site is under no obligation to proceed with such a deletion. This is the case, for example, with newspaper articles, which are informative, even if they present you in a negative light.

It will then essentially be an exchange in good faith between you and the publisher, and no legal means will allow you to force him to remove the information on his website.

If the information is illegal or infringes your privacy, it will of course be possible to implement legal proceedings using the appropriate basis.

If this is not enough, search engines are now required to provide their users with a method for de-referencing data concerning them.

The right to digital oblivion on search engines, privacy versus freedom of expression

Court of Justice of the European Union, in its decision of 13 May 2014, indicates that the operator of a search engine is responsible for the processing of data consisting of the indexing of Internet pages. Consequently, the rules applicable to personal data are applicable to search engines.

In concrete terms, any natural person concerned may request that any result that may be harmful to him be removed from the list of results appearing during a search on his name.

The Court states that only information that is may be deleted is “inadequate, not or more relevant or excessive”

It is an application of the principle of privacy protection.

However, this right to be forgotten is limited, in order to avoid it being harmful to “the legitimate interest of Internet users potentially interested in having access to the information in question”. The right to information is therefore balanced with the right to privacy.

As a result, for example, it will be impossible for a politician to request the deletion of articles relating to a former criminal conviction for embezzlement. In this case, the legitimate interest in information is constituted. Indeed, it will be useful for the public to be able to know the conviction of a politician, who is by nature led to the handling of funds.

Conversely, a degrading photograph may be considered inadequate, irrelevant or excessive and will justify deletion. It has no informative value and its sole purpose is to harm the person who appears in it.

However, this case law leaves a significant margin of appreciation to search engines on content that can be removed. There is little doubt that future case law will need to clarify this point.

This judgment concerns all search engines aimed at a European audience, whether Google, Bing or any other player in the sector.

They have already reacted and set up simple reporting procedures via forms at the following addresses:

• google,
• bing.

However, it should be remembered that just because Google has removed the indexing of a page does not mean that other engines will be required to do the same. The request will have to be renewed with all market players.

In addition, this request only concerns results on European versions of search engines. The pages concerned can always be indexed on their other versions.

In addition, if the page is no longer indexed, this does not mean that it is no longer available if accessed through the direct link. However, it will be hidden in the depths of the web and difficult to find if its existence is unknown. It will therefore be a lesser evil whose consequences will be very limited.

Prudence will always remain the source of security in terms of e-reputation

While it is useful to have such tools, it should be noted that any information on the Internet is by nature viral and that it is particularly difficult to contain its spread.

Therefore, before even publishing content, it is necessary to ensure that it is not likely to damage your digital image, now or in ten years.