DATA PROTECTION : ADVOCATE-GENERAL'S OPINION VINDICATES GOOGLE.

Bad news for internet users hoping that one day all personal information will be deleted from Google. In his conclusions, published on 25 June, the Advocate-General of the EU Court of Justice, Niilo Jaaskinen, considers that search engine service providers are not responsible, on the basis of Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of personal data, for personal data appearing on web pages they process.

Google is obliged to comply with EU legislation because it offers its services in the EU and because it has established a head office in Dublin. The case in question dates back to 1998, when a Spanish newspaper published in its printed edition two announcements concerning a real estate auction connected with attachment proceedings prompted by social security debts. A person's name was mentioned. At a later date, an electronic version of the newspaper was made available online.

In November 2009, this person contacted the publisher of the newspaper complaining that references to these two unflattering announcements were returned when he entered his name and surname in Google despite the fact that the proceedings had been concluded and resolved many years earlier (and requested that they be removed).

The publisher refused on the grounds that the publication was effected by order of the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

In February 2010, he contacted Google Spain and requested that the links to the newspaper be deleted. The request was forwarded to Google's head office in California. Thereafter he lodged a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) against the publisher and Google.

In July 2010, the director of the AEPD upheld the complaint against Google calling on them to withdraw the data from their index and to render future access to them impossible. The complaint against the publisher was rejected, however, on the grounds that publication of the data in the press was legally justified.

Google, in turn, introduced two appeals seeking annulment of the AEPD decision. In this context, the case was referred to the EU Court of Justice.

NO RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN

The advocate-general considered that the question should be examined taking into account the business model of internet search engine providers, such as...