EU court: Google must delete inaccurate search info if asked
EU court: Google must delete inaccurate search info if asked
The Google logo at the Vivatech show in Paris, France, on June 15, 2022. (Thibault Camus / AP)
LONDON -
Google has to delete search results about people in Europe if they can prove that the information is clearly wrong, the European Union's top court said Thursday.
The European Court of Justice ruled that search engines must "dereference information" if the person making the request can demonstrate that the material is "manifestly inaccurate."
People in Europe have the right to ask Google and other search engines to delete links to outdated or embarrassing information about themselves, even if it is true, under a principle known as "right to be forgotten."
Strict data protection rules in the 27-nation bloc give people the right to control what appears when their name is searched online, but the regulations frequently pit data privacy concerns against the public's right to know.
Google said it welcomed the decision.
"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," the company said in a statement.
The case stems from a complaint filed in Germany's highest court by two managers at a group of investment companies who asked Google to remove search results based on their names that linked to articles criticizing the group's investment model.
They said the articles made false claims. Neither the managers nor the company were identified.
The pair also asked Google to remove thumbnail photos of them that came up in image searches without any context.
Google refused because it didn't know whether the articles were accurate or not, according to a press summary of the ruling.
The court disagreed, saying that if someone submits relevant and sufficient evidence proving the "manifest inaccuracy" of the information, the search engine must grant the request.
The judges said the right to freedom of expression and information can't be taken into account if "at the very least, a part -- which is not of minor importance -- of the information" turns out to be wrong.
To avoid making it too hard to get false results removed, the ruling said a court decision isn't needed and that people can "provide only evidence that can reasonably be required."
Google said the links and thumbnails in question in this particular case aren't available through web and image search anymore. "The content at issue has been offline for a long time," it said.
Search engines wouldn't have to investigate the facts of each case to determine whether content is accurate, the court said, because it could amount to extra work that companies would be able get around by proactively removing results.
"This will hopefully push Google and similar Big Tech firms to invest in a sufficiently trained and well-employed workforce capable of handling such requests, instead of outsourcing crucial content curation work to underpaid workers or an unaccountable algorithm," said Jan Penfrat, senior policy advisor at digital rights group EDRi.
In a previous ruling, the court sided with Google in deciding that the "right to be forgotten" doesn't apply outside the 27-nation EU. France's privacy regulator had wanted the rule applied to all of Google's search engines, even those outside Europe.
Google has deleted 5.25 million weblinks since it started handling "right to be forgotten" requests in 2014, or nearly half of all requests processed, according to the company's latest transparency report.
When Google receives a takedown request, it doesn't remove the links from all web searches, just when a person's name is typed in. It will still show up when other search terms are used.
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.
Memphis authorities released video footage Friday showing Tyre Nichols being beaten by police officers who held the Black motorist down and repeatedly struck him with their fists, boots and batons as he screamed for his mother and pleaded, ''I'm just trying to go home.'
When selling a home, Canadians may be exempted from paying capital gains tax on a residential property -- if it's their principal residence. On CTVNews.ca, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew explains what's determined as a principal residence, and what properties are eligible for the exemption.
The head of the Canada Revenue Agency says it 'wouldn't be worth the effort' to fully review $15.5 billion in potentially ineligible pandemic wage benefit payments flagged by Canada's Auditor General.
A review has been launched after police officers were recorded restraining a handcuffed Indigenous child on the floor of a Vancouver hospital – an incident the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has denounced as "horrendous."
The World Health Organization will announce Monday whether it thinks COVID-19 still represents a global health emergency but Canada's top doctor says regardless of what the international body decides, Canada's response to the coronavirus will not change.
Hyundai cars in Canada don't have the same anti-theft issue compared to those in the United States, a company spokesperson says, following reports that two American auto insurers are refusing to write policies for older models.
A review has been launched after police officers were recorded restraining a handcuffed Indigenous child on the floor of a Vancouver hospital – an incident the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has denounced as "horrendous."
Freedom rally supporters are expected to congregate near the southern Alberta border town of Coutts on Saturday and RCMP officials say motorists in the area should expect to face highway delays.
In an emotional and powerful speech at an International Holocaust Remembrance Day event in Ottawa, a survivor stressed the importance of remembering the millions of victims murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War and underscored the need to stand up against anti-semitism and hate.
Video released publicly Friday shows the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi struggling with his assailant for control of a hammer moments before he was struck in the head during a brutal attack in the couple's San Francisco home last year.
A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing seven people, including a 70-year-old woman, and wounding three others before he was shot and killed by police, officials said.
A 13-year-old Palestinian attacker opened fire in east Jerusalem on Saturday. The shooting in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan in east Jerusalem, near the historic Old City, wounded a father and son, ages 47 and 23, paramedics said.
North Korea condemned on Friday the decision by the United States to supply Ukraine with advanced battle tanks to help fight off Russia's invasion, saying Washington is escalating a sinister 'proxy war' aimed at destroying Moscow.
Memphis authorities released video footage Friday showing Tyre Nichols being beaten by police officers who held the Black motorist down and repeatedly struck him with their fists, boots and batons as he screamed for his mother and pleaded, ''I'm just trying to go home.'
A New Jersey man who joined a mob's attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Friday to more than six years in prison for using pepper spray to assault police officers, one of whom died a day after the siege.
The head of the Canada Revenue Agency says it 'wouldn't be worth the effort' to fully review $15.5 billion in potentially ineligible pandemic wage benefit payments flagged by Canada's Auditor General.
Members of Parliament are making their way back to Ottawa ahead of resuming sitting on Monday, as the city prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of the arrival of 'Freedom Convoy' protesters.
With a deal under negotiation between Ottawa and provinces, and premiers invited to a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in early February, the issue remains one where the Tory leader's position appears somewhat murky, including to some inside his own party.
A new survey suggests the vast majority of Canadians have concerns about the state of the health-care system, particularly in Atlantic provinces where hospitals have struggled to maintain emergency services for months. Leger and The Association for Canadian Studies surveyed 1,554 Canadian adults over a two-day period in January.
Malnutrition rates in Afghanistan are at record highs with half the country enduring severe hunger throughout the year, a spokesman for the World Food Program said Thursday.
What looks like a giant teddy bear’s face peering into space from the surface of Mars is actually a satellite image of some craters and a circular fracture, scientists say.
Nvidia Corp Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang on Tuesday said that the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence will create powerful tools that require legal regulation and social norms that have yet to be worked out.
A chance discovery by an Edmonton area woman who was walking her dogs has turned out to be a massive fossilized bone that likely belonged to an Ice Age mammoth.
BookTok is all abuzz with the news that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni will be starring in a movie based on the bestselling romance novel, "It Ends With Us."
Italian designer Sabato De Sarno has been named the new creative director of Gucci, and will unveil his first collection during Milan Fashion Week next September, Gucci and parent company Kering announced Saturday.
Pamela Anderson is addressing discussion about a story regarding her 'Home Improvement' co-star Tim Allen that is part of her new memoir, 'Love Pamela.'
Italy's prime minister visited Libya for talks Saturday with officials from the country's west-based government focusing on energy and migration, top issues for Italy and the European Union. Libya is the third North African country Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited over the last two weeks as she seeks to secure new supplies of natural gas.
A pair of senior U.S. senators is urging the Biden administration to get tough with Canada for "flouting" obligations to its North American trade partners.
Though you won't be able to sit on the old, cracked pleather benches and take in the thick smell of gravy and fries, while the gentle sound of clanging dishes provides the soundtrack for your lunch, Zellers plans to roll out food trucks for those 'craving a taste of nostalgia.'
Italian designer Sabato De Sarno has been named the new creative director of Gucci, and will unveil his first collection during Milan Fashion Week next September, Gucci and parent company Kering announced Saturday.
Aryna Sabalenka, a 24-year-old from Belarus, who won her first Grand Slam title by coming back to beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Saturday night, using 17 aces among her 51 total winners to overcome seven double-faults.
The outrage, frustration, sadness and anger was evident around the NBA on Friday, the day that video was released showing how Nichols, a 29-year-old father, was killed by five Memphis police officers. Several teams released statements of support for the family, as did the National Basketball Players Association.
Hyundai cars in Canada don't have the same anti-theft issue compared to those in the United States, a company spokesperson says, following reports that two American auto insurers are refusing to write policies for older models.
Progressive and State Farm, two of America's largest auto insurers, are refusing to write policies in certain cities for some older Hyundai and Kia models that have been deemed too easy to steal, according to one of the insurance companies and media reports.
The Google logo at the Vivatech show in Paris, France, on June 15, 2022. (Thibault Camus / AP)
