Right to be forgotten

A legal right, recognized in some jurisdictions, to request erasure or delisting of certain personal information. Its scope depends on the law, the information, and competing interests such as privacy and public access.

Google Spain SL, Google Inc. v AEPD and Mario Costeja González: A 2014 Court of Justice of the European Union judgment requiring search engines, in some cases, to delist links to personal information. This judgment established a landmark route for requesting delisting from search results.
Freedom of expression: The right to communicate and receive ideas and information without undue interference. Delisting can restrict access to information, so decision-makers weigh it against privacy claims.
Mario Costeja González: A Spanish citizen whose complaint about old newspaper notices led to a landmark European search-delisting judgment. His request over archived notices of a property auction gave the legal dispute its defining facts.
Google Search removal requests: Requests to Google to remove personal information or links from its search results under applicable policies or laws. They show how a legal claim is translated into a search engine's review process.
Global delisting: Removal of search results across all national versions of a search engine rather than within a limited region. It raises the unresolved tension between effective privacy remedies and other countries' speech laws.
General Data Protection Regulation: A European Union regulation governing the processing of personal data and protecting individuals' data rights. Article 17 sets out the right to erasure, including conditions and exceptions.
Public interest: The welfare or concerns of the public that can justify attention to information or state action. Information about public matters may remain accessible despite an individual's request.
European Convention on Human Rights: A Council of Europe treaty protecting civil and political rights, including private life and expression. Its privacy and expression guarantees form part of the wider European rights framework.
Personal data: Information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. Whether information qualifies as personal data is often a threshold question for a request.
Right to be forgotten in the United States: Debates and proposals concerning legal rights to erase or delist personal information under U.S. law. The contrast highlights how constitutional speech protections complicate adopting a European-style right.

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