// Netherlands · Right to be forgotten

Oral surgeon loses bid to scrub negative patient review from Google search

Rechtbank Den Haag · 22 December 2022

ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2022:14569

The case

An oral surgeon requested Google to remove a negative patient review from search results under Article 17 GDPR, claiming it was a fake review. The court denied the request because he could not prove the review was incorrect, while the public interest in information about healthcare providers takes precedence over his privacy rights.

What the court considered

01Applicant failed to prove that the negative review about his medical treatment was manifestly incorrect or constituted a 'fake review'
02The right to information of internet users outweighs applicant's privacy rights, as he continues to practice as an oral surgeon
03Applicant insufficiently utilized available means to investigate whether the reviewer was actually his patient
04The three-year-old review contains current information relevant to the public seeking medical care

What this means in practice

Healthcare providers seeking to have negative online reviews removed must provide concrete evidence that these are inaccurate. Merely claiming that a review is 'fake' is insufficient. Search engines are not required to conduct active investigations into the authenticity of reviews. This ruling clarifies the burden of proof in removal requests for medical reviews and emphasizes the public interest in access to patient experiences.

Legal basis

Artikel 17 AVG
Artikel 6 lid 1 sub f AVG
Artikel 17 lid 3 sub a AVG

Right to be forgotten

Related rulings

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