// Netherlands · Right to be forgotten
Artist manager wins right to erase decade-old fraud conviction from Google search results
Rechtbank Amsterdam ·
ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2018:1644
The case
An artist manager requested Google to remove a search result linking to an NRC article about his criminal conviction from 10 years ago for document fraud. The court granted the request because the applicant's privacy interest outweighed the public interest in accessing the outdated information about a relatively minor offense.
What the court considered
- 01The applicant's right to privacy outweighs Google's economic interest and the public interest in accessing the information
- 02It concerns a relatively minor offense from 10 years ago that no longer has current relevance
- 03The personal consequences for the applicant are significant while there is no special public interest in keeping the information available
- 04The article contains inaccuracies and has a tendentious character that negatively affects the applicant's image
- 05The applicant is not a public figure and does not actively seek publicity
What this means in practice
For individuals with a criminal record, this ruling offers hope for the removal of outdated search results. For Google, this means that it must assess on a case-by-case basis whether old criminal information still serves the public interest. Media companies must take into account that their archives can be 'filtered' through search engines based on privacy considerations. This ruling demonstrates the practical application of the 'right to be forgotten' in relation to outdated criminal information and confirms that search engines are not categorically prohibited from indexing criminal personal data, but must assess on a case-by-case basis whether removal is justified.
Legal basis
- Artikel 36 Wbp
- Artikel 40 Wbp
- Artikel 16 Wbp
- Artikel 7 Handvest Grondrechten EU
- Artikel 8 Handvest Grondrechten EU
- Google Spain/Costeja-arrest HvJEU
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- Dutch real estate entrepreneur loses bid to remove criminal conviction article from Google search resultsNetherlands · 28 August 2025
- Google Defeats Legal Firm's Search Ranking Complaint Over Casino TermsNetherlands · 28 May 2025
- Court Denies Wealthy Heir's Bid to Scrub Criminal Past From Google Search ResultsNetherlands · 26 March 2024
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