The judges ruled that this must always be done if a person can prove to Google that a search query leads to a website with obvious fake news. It was also stipulated that no judicial decisions are required, but only the evidence that is reasonable for those affected must be presented.

Current: Couple blackmailed by dubious website

In a recent case, a married couple was blackmailed by an American website. This couple offers investments through their investment company, which the suspicious website reported critically and questioned its investment models. The couple became aware of the site and perceived it as dubious. Accordingly, the operators would publish false claims and first remove them from the website and from the public if those affected pay money.

Upon realizing this, the two turned to Google to request that the dubious website's articles be removed from its search results. Google refused because the facts seemed unclear and there was not enough evidence. However, when the couple went to court, the Federal Court of Justice, as the highest German civil court in Luxembourg, asked the ECJ how the matter should be assessed under European law, which is why the current decision was made.

Search engine operators must be careful in the future

According to the ECJ ruling in Luxembourg, Google and similar providers will have to check more closely in the future which results are listed in their search engine in the event of complaints. Particular attention should be paid to the photos in the results list (thumbnails), as these – depending on the context – can be very stressful for the person concerned.

Overall, however, the decision relieves the burden on search engine operators because they do not have to do any research themselves. Above all, those affected or people who want to complain now have a much higher chance of having the suspicious site that they have become aware of being removed from the search results.

Since 2014: “Right to be forgotten”

In recent years there have also been certain rights granted to search engine users. In 2014, the ECJ decided on a “right to be forgotten” with the “Google Spain” ruling. Here too, search engine operators had to remove references to websites with sensitive personal information from the results list. However, this only happened under certain circumstances and certain restrictions were also imposed by the court: In the case of celebrities, for example, it can be assumed that the public is more searching and interested in personal information, so this cannot be deleted so easily.

The European Union Data Protection Act also came into force in 2018, but this only allows an exception if this is necessary for the exercise of the right to information.

Current case not yet finally resolved

The case in which the couple got involved is still unclear. The case goes back to the Federal Court of Justice; He must now decide how to proceed. However, it can be assumed that it will be based on the new directive from the European Court of Justice. This means that if the couple can provide reasonable evidence that the information disseminated on the American website is actually false, then Google will have to delete the website from search results.

Source:

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