The Belgian Data Protection Authority imposed a €600,000 fine on Google Belgium on Tuesday 14 July for failing to respect a citizen’s right to be forgotten, after Google had refused his request to remove obsolete articles that were damaging to his reputation.
“While some of the articles cited by the complainant may be considered necessary for the right to information, others, which relate to unproven harassment that is about 10 years old, should be allowed to be forgotten”, commented Hielke Hijmans, President of the DPA Litigation Chamber. “Google was clearly negligent in maintaining links that could cause significant damage to the plaintiff’s reputation through its widely used search engine”, she concluded, describing the decision as “historic”.
In addition to a removal obligation, Google Belgium is required to pay the sum of €600,000, which is the largest fine imposed by the Belgian authority to date (compared with €50,000 in the past). (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)