EU court: Google must delete inaccurate search information if asked

Strict data protection rules in the 27-nation bloc give people the right to control what appears when their name is searched online, but the regulations frequently pit data privacy concerns against the public’s right to know.

The European Union’s top court says Google has to delete search results about people in Europe if they can prove that the information is clearly wrong (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)

Google has to delete search results about people in Europe if they can prove the information is clearly wrong, the European Union’s top court said.

The European Court of Justice ruled search engines must “dereference information” if the person making the request can demonstrate the material is “manifestly inaccurate”.