// Netherlands · Right to be forgotten
Man wins right to remove criminal conviction search results from Google
Rechtbank Amsterdam ·
ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2018:3357
The case
An individual sought removal of Google search results linking to a news article about his criminal conviction for secret filming. The court granted the request because the applicant's privacy interests outweighed the public interest, as he was not a public figure and the offense was unrelated to his rental activities.
What the court considered
- 01Google fell under the categorical prohibition of Article 16 Data Protection Act for criminal personal data, but this was not applied absolutely due to the societal function of search engines
- 02Balancing test between privacy and freedom of information showed that applicant was not a public figure and public interest in findable information was minimal
- 03The search result contained harmful information about secret filming unrelated to property rental, and privacy damage outweighed public interest
- 04The 'special circumstances' test was not met - no special role in public life or public interest in findability
What this means in practice
Search engines must assess removal requests individually based on a balancing of interests in which the role of the person in public life and the public interest in the information are central. Ordinary citizens have stronger privacy protection than public figures. This ruling clarifies how the prohibition on processing criminal personal data (Article 16 DPA) must be applied to search engines and confirms the balancing of interests between privacy and freedom of information in the pre-GDPR era.
Legal basis
- Artikel 16 Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens
- Artikel 36 Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens
- Artikel 40 Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens
- Artikel 8 EVRM
- Artikel 10 EVRM
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- French top court: naming person in article on criminal conviction may standFrance · 3 June 2026
- 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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