Right to be forgotten: 10 essential questions about the Google form

1. Can I request the removal of search results for my brand or company name?

No, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) limited the scope of this measure to natural persons.

2. Can an American citizen living in France use the Google right to be forgotten form to request the removal of information appearing on the French search engine www.google.fr?

Yes, any resident of the European Union, whatever their nationality, can use the form. Conversely, in theory a French citizen residing outside the EU cannot benefit from it. In practice, for now Google does not ask for proof of residence.

3. I’m a self-employed professional (lawyer, doctor, and so on) and I’m facing attacks concerning my professional life — can I request the removal of content?

Presumably not: this information falls outside private life, since it relates to a professional activity.

4. Google announces that inadequate, outdated or excessive information can be removed. How is Google going to judge whether the content I want removed meets these criteria?

These criteria are extremely subjective, which is why Google has appointed an advisory committee of experts. It is likely that, as Google handles the first cases, it will establish rules. Some may be made public, probably not all of them…

5. I want to have content removed that appears on Google’s search engines outside Europe — is that possible?

No, the court ruling only concerns Google’s European search engines. For example, the information will still be present on the Canadian search engine www.google.ca

6. I have submitted a request using the Google right to be forgotten form — how long can I expect it to take to be processed?

Google states that the form is “only a first step” and that it plans “over the coming months […] to refine its approach…”. Knowing that there were already 41,000 requests in 4 days, it is easy to imagine that Google’s answer will take time — the time the American giant needs to put processes and a team in place.

7. Who is going to judge my right to have content removed?

Google will probably set up a dedicated team, but for now no one knows how many people it will have, what skills they will bring, or even where it will be based. An advisory committee of experts is expected to define the guidelines for the operational teams. It will be made up of Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, but also a professor of ethics at the Oxford Internet Institute, Luciano Floridi, a legal researcher at the Catholic University of Louvain, Peggy Valcke, the former director of the Spanish Data Protection Agency, Jose Luis Piñar, and the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Frank La Rue.

8. Will Google flag removed content?

Google may indicate on the search results page that a piece of content has been removed following a legal request, as it already does for copyright violations, like this:

9. If I have a namesake whose search results are not to my liking, can I request the removal of the content?

Google’s position on this type of case is not known today. It is reasonable to assume the answer will be no. Despite the possible confusion, it is not your image that is at stake, and you cannot request removal on behalf of someone else. In any case, it will be difficult for Google to determine whether the information concerns you or your namesake.

10. Can Julie Gayet have information about her relationship with François Hollande removed via the Google right to be forgotten form?

Probably not: the CJEU specified that Google will have to take the right to information into account, and that this right prevails in the case of public figures. But what about a journalist, a company executive or a local athlete?