Google May Get Win in Case Over Privacy Data on Other Websites

Google can’t be forced to remove material from its search engine that was legally posted on other websites, an adviser to the European Union’s top court said in a case that may set boundaries between free speech and data-protection rights.

Google can’t be considered “the controller” of personal data from other websites, Advocate General Niilo Jaeaeskinen of the EU Court of Justice said in a non-binding opinion. “A national data protection authority cannot require an Internet search engine service provider to withdraw information from its index,” Jaeaeskinen said. The Luxembourg-based court follows this legal advice in a majority of cases. The dispute before the EU’s top court raises questions about the scope of EU privacy rules related to personal data on the Internet and the rights of search engines to use any online data to remain commercially successful. The case was triggered by about 200 instances of Spain’s data-protection authority ordering Google to remove information on people.