Google Starts Removing User Search Results for 'Right to Be Forgotten' Ruling

Google has begun deleting some search results at the request of users, following a May court ruling that European Union citizens have a right to ask for the removal of irrelevant or embarrassing personal information that pops up on a search of their names.

Several weeks after the ruling by the European Court of Justice on the so-called "right to be forgotten," the company set up an online interface for users to register complaints.

Google spokesman Al Verney confirmed Thursday the company began taking down some results this week, but it has a backlog to work through. He said "each request has to be assessed individually."

(Also see: Google Starts Receiving Take-Down Requests After EU Court Ruling: Report)

Google is only deleting information that appears on its own results pages. It has no control over information on websites.

Google started taking removal requests for the EU 'right to be forgotten' law in the end of May. To comply with the ruling, Google launched a webform available for Europeans to request the removal of results from the search engine.

"The court's ruling requires Google to make difficult judgments about an individual's right to be forgotten and the public's right to know," a Google spokesman said in a statement emailed to AFP.

Google also said it was creating an advisory committee to help it strike a balance between freedom of information and people's rights when it comes to not being haunted by untruths or acts from the past on the Internet.

The group includes former Google chief Eric Schmidt, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, Oxford Internet Institute ethics professor Luciano Floridi, Leuven University law school director Peggy Valcke, former Spanish data protection agency director Jose Luis Pinar and UN envoy on freedom of expression Frank La Rue.

Written with agency inputs