We exercise your right to be forgotten to protect your image online

It is the right to ask that information about you that no longer needs to be on the internet stops appearing when someone searches your name. It applies mainly to search engines, such as Google, and also to the websites that published that information. It is recognised in the GDPR and in Spanish data protection law.

When the information is inadequate, inaccurate, irrelevant or excessive, especially because of the time that has passed. For example, a news story about proceedings that closed years ago, a fine that has been paid or personal data published without reason. It also matters whether you are or were a public figure, because then public interest carries more weight.

Article 17 of the General Data Protection Regulation (right to erasure) and articles 93 and 94 of Organic Law 3/2018 on Data Protection, which regulate it in search engines and on social networks. Its foundation is the Google Spain ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, from 2014.

Google has its own form to request the removal of results under European law. You have to list each link and explain why that information should no longer show up. Many requests are refused because they are poorly argued: that is usually when the case reaches us, and we take care of it.

You can file a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency, which can order Google to remove the link. There is no need to go to court. We prepare the complaint with the arguments Google did not take into account and follow it up until there is a decision.

Yes. The right to be forgotten does not require the information to be false. What is assessed is whether, over time, it has stopped being relevant or it is disproportionate for it to keep showing up when someone searches your name. This was established by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The right to be forgotten protects personal data, so it is exercised by individuals, not companies. But partners, executives and self-employed people whose name appears in old news or records can request it. For information about a company there are other routes, such as the right to honour or each website’s rules, and we work on those too.

They are two different things. The right to be forgotten in search engines makes the link stop showing up when someone searches your name, but the information stays on the original website. When there are grounds, we also ask the media outlet or the website to delete it or remove your name.

Official gazettes do not usually delete what they have published, but they can be asked to stop showing it in search engines once it has served its purpose. For rulings published on legal portals, we request anonymisation or removal of the link. Each case is assessed separately.

You can ask for it to stop showing up on Google when someone searches your name and, in some cases, for the media outlet to anonymise the story in its archive. How old it is, whether the matter is closed and whether it is still of public interest all weigh heavily. We tell you what has a chance before requesting anything.

Yes. Data protection law allows relatives and heirs to request the erasure of a deceased person’s data, unless that person had prohibited it. It can also be requested on behalf of minors or people you legally represent.

The same regulation applies throughout the European Union, so it can be requested in any EU country. Outside Europe it depends on each country and on the search engine, and we assess it case by case.

Your name and, if you have them, the links or screenshots of what you want to stop showing up. If you already requested the right to be forgotten from Google and they refused, send us their reply too. You don’t need to prepare anything else.

It depends on who has to decide. Google replies through its form and, if it refuses the request and the case has to go to the AEPD, the AEPD sets the timescale. As the decision does not depend on us, we do not promise timescales. We let you know link by link as each one is resolved.

It is common for another website to copy the news story or for a directory to republish your data. While the case is open, anything that appears is included in the same assignment. If you want us to keep watching afterwards, continuous monitoring is contracted separately.

It depends on what needs to be removed: news, court rulings, photos or personal data are contracted separately and without a subscription, except continuous monitoring. You can see the prices in the shop and, if you would rather we assess your case first, write to us and we will tell you what can be done and how much it would cost before you pay anything. If we can’t remove it, we keep your credit for you.