What the Right to Be Forgotten Is
The right to be forgotten (more precisely, the right to erasure) is a legal concept that allows individuals to request that search engines remove links to certain personal information from their results. It originated in European law, most significantly in the 2014 European Court of Justice ruling in the Google Spain case, and was subsequently codified in the GDPR as Article 17. The right allows individuals to request that search engines delist URLs containing personal information that is outdated, irrelevant, inadequate, or no longer necessary—it doesn’t require removing the underlying content from the web, only removing the link from search results.
Who Can Use It and Where
The right to erasure under GDPR applies to residents of European Union member states and, following Brexit, under UK GDPR for UK residents. Similar rights exist in several other jurisdictions. California’s CCPA includes certain erasure rights. In the United States broadly, however, no federal right to be forgotten exists, and search engines generally resist delisting requests that don’t fall under specific categories.
How to Submit a Delisting Request to Google
Google’s search result removal tool is accessible via its dedicated Search removal request form. You must identify the specific URLs you want delisted, specify which search queries surface them, and explain why the information meets the criteria for removal—why it is outdated, irrelevant, excessive, or no longer serves a legitimate purpose that outweighs your privacy interests. Google reviews each request individually and denies requests where the information remains in the public interest. Denials can be appealed to Google and, in Europe, to data protection authorities.
When the Legal Right Doesn’t Apply
For individuals outside GDPR jurisdictions who can’t use legal delisting rights, the practical alternatives are: contacting the website directly to request removal or correction; using Google’s removal tools for specific categories (revenge porn, sensitive financial information, certain personal identification numbers); and pursuing ORM strategies to push negative content down in search results. The absence of a legal right to be forgotten doesn’t mean there are no options—it means the path requires more active reputation management rather than a single formal request.
