EU court rules Google doesn’t have to forget you

The US search engine Google has won a European Union court battle against plans to impose a global “right to be forgotten” law, which has tipped the balance in favour of the public’s right to know over privacy and protection concerns.

The ruling means that the EU’s privacy standards don’t have to apply outside its borders.

The European Court of Justice ruled that, while a search engine operator such as Google must carry out “de-referencing” of links as demanded by a regulator or court in an EU state to all European versions of its sites, the “right to be forgotten” need not go any further.

The right to be forgotten was enshrined by the EU’s top court in 2014, when it said Google must delete “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant” data from its results when a member of the public requests it.

The US internet giant, backed by tech heavyweights including Microsoft, had argued that the removal of search results required under EU law should not extend to its google.com domain or its other non-EU sites.

Via RFI