Do you consult a search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.) and, when you enter a combination of your first name and surname, you find a search result that is incorrect or irrelevant?
The right to dereferencing allows you to ask a search engine to remove one or more results provided following a query based on your identity, i.e., your first and last name.
For example:
- You no longer want a search engine to be able to access your old photos.
- Information about your sexual orientation is published.
- A search using your first and last name reveals an old CV.
Attention, de-referencing doesn’t delete the information form the source website.
It is the right to deletion, which allows you to request the deletion of data on the source website. The original content remains unchanged and can still be consulted using other search criteria or directly via the website on which the information was published.
How to exercise your right?
To assert your right to de-referencing, you must contact the operator of the search engine in question. Most operators provide online forms for requesting the removal of content about you from the search engine's results list.
Your request for dereferencing must include the web address (URL) of the result that is the subject of your request as well as the reason behind your request, telling the search engine operator why you want the link in question to be dereferenced.
If the operator has reasonable doubts about your identity, he may ask you to attach any document that proves your identity, for example to prevent identity theft.
The right to dereferencing is not an absolute right.
Dereferencing requests may be refused. The reasons for this are often as follows:
- the data is used to exercise the right to freedom of expression and information.
- the data is used to perform a task in the public interest or in the exercise of an organisation's official authority.
- the data processed is necessary for public health purposes or serves the public interest.
Furthermore, when a search engine is ordered to delete a person's personal data, this only applies to results displayed in the European Union, not worldwide.
What criteria are generally considered by search engines when faced with a request for dereferencing?
Your age:
Were you a minor at the time of publication?
Your reputation:
Are you active in public life?
The nature of the content concerning you, its accuracy, and its source:
Is it sensitive personal data, for example information about your health, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs? Is the information public by nature, professional or private? Is it rumours spread by a single blog, hate speech, defamation, or several press articles whose content has been verified?
How was information about you published?
Did you publish it yourself? Was the content in question published for journalistic purposes?
Impact on your life:
Does the content represent an obstacle to your job search? Does the information available put you in danger (identity theft, harassment, stalking, etc.)?
Possibility to lodge a complaint with the CNPD.
If the organization doesn’t reply to you, doesn’t respect the deadlines or if you’re not satisfied with its reply, you can lodge a complaint with the CNPD via the online form on our website, taking care to attach all supporting documents for your previous actions.