// Netherlands · Right to be forgotten
Surgeon wins right to remove blacklist search results after disciplinary suspension
Rechtbank Amsterdam ·
ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2018:8606
The case
A plastic surgeon requested removal of search results linking to her inclusion on a 'doctors blacklist' following a disciplinary conditional suspension. The court granted the request as the public interest was insufficient to justify the privacy infringement, particularly since the information is already available through the statutory BIG registry.
What the court considered
- 01The disciplinary information is factually correct but not relevant and excessive for the purpose of processing
- 02The BIG registry already provides a legal system for disclosure of disciplinary measures to interested parties
- 03The 'doctors blacklist' is not representative and possibly unlawful, raising questions about its reliability
- 04The applicant's privacy interest outweighs the public interest in accessing this specific information via Google
- 05It was a conditional suspension, meaning the disciplinary tribunal did not deem it necessary to close the practice
What this means in practice
For healthcare providers, this means that disciplinary information distributed through unreliable or non-representative sources is more likely to be eligible for removal, particularly if this information is already available through official channels. For Google, this means that the company must take the reliability of the source into account when assessing removal requests. This judgment clarifies the application of Article 17 GDPR to disciplinary data and confirms that the availability of information through official channels (such as the BIG register) is relevant when weighing interests in right to be forgotten cases.
Legal basis
- Artikel 17 AVG
- Artikel 6 lid 1 sub f AVG
- Artikelen 7 en 8 Handvest van de Grondrechten van de EU
- Artikel 11 Handvest van de Grondrechten van de EU
- Wet BIG
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