You have probably heard the concept of the right to be forgotten when talking about Google or other Internet search engines.
And I am sure that, even if you do not know exactly what it consists of or how to exercise it, you can probably intuitively deduce that it is a right that we all have to delete our data on the Internet.
Let's see below all the details about the right to be forgotten on the internet.
Surely you have searched for your first and last name on the Internet and have found some publication or photo on social networks in which you appear and you would like it not to be there. The right to be forgotten is a mechanism introduced by the GDPR that gives citizens greater protection over their personal data.
It is a right by which the interested party requests the person in charge of the medium where the information has been published to delete it, so that their personal data disappear from the network and leave no trace.
In any case, the right to be forgotten can be requested whenever the information violates the right to honor, privacy or self-image of the interested party and whenever that information lacks public interest and can be considered obsolete.
The regulations that protect this right are included both in the RGPD, in its article 17, and in the LOPDGDD in its article 15.
In order for the information to be deleted, the interested party may exercise the right to be forgotten by different means. Directly by making the request about the Person Responsible who has published the information in the medium, to the different Internet search engines, such as Google and a complaint may also be made to the Spanish Data Protection Agency.
The Person in charge who is processing the data of the interested party, upon receiving a request to delete them, will be obliged to remove that content or, otherwise, reply to the interested party indicating the reasons, in a justified way and protected by the regulations, why this information is not going to be removed.
For this request, the Person in Charge will have a period of one month to respond to it and in specific cases, when the request is very complex, it may be extended for two more months.
In the event that the Person Responsible for the data chooses not to comply with this type of request, they could face Sanctions imposed by the AEPD or even, this may finally order the withdrawal of the data.
Guarantee the freedom of expression and information
Comply with legal obligations
When they are useful for reasons of public interest in the field of public health
When its purpose is for scientific research, historical or statistical purposes
For the formulation, exercise or defense of claims
Sometimes, freedom of expression or the right to information are imposed over the right to be forgotten and there are certain cases that must be analyzed separately in order to determine the impact that may exist between the two rights.
In this regard, one of the questions that many of our clients ask us is whether it is possible to eliminate, for example, information published in the Official State Gazette, about convictions, embargoes, oppositions, administrative sanctions or similar issues that may harm the individual.And is that, in certain cases, the publications of the official bulletins can damage the image of the person who appears in the publication. The information in the official bulletins cannot be deleted, when fulfilling the function of communicating information of public interest or relevance. The solution proposed for these cases is to de-index the data that allow the identification of the interested party in Internet search engines, such as Google, so that the name no longer appears associated with the official gazette of the affected person exercising the right. That is, the de-indexing of a link or result occurs when the web page on which it is published does not delete the content, but it does adopt a series of measures in order to prevent search engines (Google) from reading it, in such a way that, if I go directly to that page if I will be able to see the publication, but if I search in the search engine for my name and surname, it will not appear among the results.
CAN WE REQUEST THE RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN OF DECEASED PEOPLE?
Another of the many questions that our clients ask us is whether it is possible to delete information on the Internet of deceased people. This assumption is included in article 3 of the LOPDGDD and establishes that the right may be exercised by people related to the deceased for family reasons or in fact or also by their heirs and, in any case, they must prove that relationship with the deceased. The death certificate must always be provided in the application to the person responsible for the data.
If you need us to advise you in this regard do not hesitate to contact us. We can answer all your questions and confirm if it is possible to delete the information you want. You can get in touch with us on our website of Borrame.es from which you can request a quote without any commitment. We will be glad to help you. Don't let your digital footprint tarnish your image.
