Right to Be Forgotten — GDPR Erasure and Search Engine Delisting
The Right to Be Forgotten Is a Legal Right — We Make It Work in Practice
Under GDPR and established EU case law, individuals have the right to demand erasure of personal data from organisations that no longer have a legitimate basis for processing it — and the right to request that search engines delist results that are outdated, inaccurate, or disproportionate.
We apply these rights practically: identifying which claims are legally viable, pursuing erasure from the sources causing active harm, and managing the process from initial demand to confirmed removal.
What the Right to Be Forgotten Actually Covers
The “right to be forgotten” is the colloquial term for the right to erasure under GDPR Article 17, and the related right to request delisting from search engine results established by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Google Spain case (2014). In practice, it covers two distinct legal mechanisms that we pursue separately or in combination depending on your situation.
- GDPR erasure from data controllers: The right to demand that an organisation delete your personal data where processing is no longer legally justified — applicable to compliance databases (World-Check, LexisNexis), social media platforms, news archives, and data brokers.
- Search engine delisting: The right to request that a search engine (Google, Bing) delist URLs containing information about you from search results for your name — where the information is outdated, inaccurate, or disproportionate to the public interest in its continued availability.
When the Right to Be Forgotten Applies
- Old court records or regulatory matters that have been resolved and no longer reflect your current status
- News articles reporting allegations that were never proven or charges that were dropped
- Data broker profiles aggregating personal information without your consent
- Compliance database entries (World-Check, LexisNexis) based on outdated or inaccurate information
- Social media content or forum posts that are defamatory, outdated, or unjustifiably damaging
When It Does Not Apply
The right to be forgotten is not absolute. It does not apply where the information serves a legitimate public interest, where processing is required by law, or where the information relates to a public figure in connection with their public role. We assess whether your situation meets the legal threshold for erasure before committing to a challenge — setting realistic expectations is part of how we protect your time and resources.
Related Services
For compliance database erasure, see LexisNexis right to erasure and World-Check removal. For search result delisting, see deindex from Google. For news article removal, see remove news articles.
Balancing Erasure Against Freedom of Expression
The right to be forgotten is not absolute — it is balanced against freedom of expression, the public interest in accurate information, and the legitimate interests of third parties. This balance is assessed case by case. GDPR Article 17(3) excludes erasure where processing is necessary for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information, for compliance with a legal obligation, or for archiving purposes in the public interest.
In practice, the balance favours erasure for private individuals in relation to old, resolved, or minor matters. It is more contested for public figures in relation to their public roles, for matters of ongoing public interest, and for content hosted by journalistic or research institutions. We assess the realistic scope of your erasure right before pursuing it — setting expectations based on the actual legal position, not an optimistic projection.
Search Engine Delisting vs Source Removal
Search engine delisting removes a URL from results for searches of your name in the applicable jurisdiction — but the underlying content remains at the source. This means the content can still be found by searching its title directly, through other search engines not covered by the delisting, and in jurisdictions outside the delisting scope. Source removal — getting the publisher to delete or amend the content — is more durable. We pursue source removal first where it is achievable, and supplement it with search engine delisting where source removal is not possible or not yet complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
GDPR erasure rights apply to EU residents and to data processed in connection with EU activities, regardless of where the data controller is located. Google search delisting under EU law applies to searches conducted within the EU — Google is not required to apply delisting globally. Outside the EU, similar rights exist in some jurisdictions (Brazil LGPD, California CCPA, UK GDPR) but the scope varies significantly.
Complete deletion from the internet is not achievable in most cases — data may be cached, archived by third parties, or hosted outside legal reach. The realistic objective is removal from the primary sources causing harm, delisting from major search engines for your name, and reduction of visibility to the extent that the information no longer surfaces in routine due diligence searches.