I am discussing the case that took place in 2014. It involved Google Spain SL and Google Inc. that known to almost every person in the world for their contribution to the sphere of technology. The second party was represented by the Spanish data protection agency. The agency was involved in this case because one of the citizens, Mario Costeja González, lodged a complaint. The parties were litigating because personal information was carried out.
When searching man’s name on the Internet, the users would receive access to the article that revealed a foreclosure auction on the home. Initially, it was printed by a Spanish newspaper and then posted online so that the links appeared in Google. The man also wanted to deal with the newspaper, but this complaint was not granted. As Google did not want to delete the links and the data, it appealed to the court to annul the decision of the agency (Google Spain SL v. Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, 2014).
The key issues of the discussed case deal with the Internet and data protection. It is shown that the Internet search engine can cause problems to both businesses and the representatives of the general public as no particular legal instruments that would secure one’s personal information are followed. Everything that once appeared on the Internet remains there, which can affect the life and business adversely.
The court considered that Google is in charge of processing the data that is why it can control and erase it, supporting its opponent in this way. Following the articles of the Directive, the court stated that the data subject can ask the controller to delete the information and make a request to authority if it is not satisfied.
As a result, the search engine provider had to comply with data privacy laws (Streitfeld, 2014). Google was claimed to have the power to control the information available to the users and had to remove the link to the article. In this way, it soon received numerous requests with similar content and had to consider thousands of cases where personal data was disclosed and became available to all Internet users (Removal of Google personal information, 2014). Mario González, in his turn, got an opportunity to protect this personal information. The links were removed, and people were not able already to reach his case. However, trying to become forgotten by the general public he attracted much attention so that his name became even more recognized.
A situation similar to the one that happened with Mario González can be faced by a business organization that is why it would be rather advantageous for it to understand what has happened and how this situation can be avoided or coped with. First of all, it is critical to remember that all-important and personal data should be secured. The company should implement initiatives that will ensure privacy. If some undesirable data becomes available on the Internet, the organization should be able to prove its inaccuracy or irrelevance if it is willing to have it removed. In this framework, it is critical for the company to follow the law in its operations. This case also highlighted the procedure that can be maintained by the organization if it needs to erase some data.
References
Google Spain SL v. Agencia Española de Protección de Datos. (2014). Web.
Removal of Google personal information could become work-intensive. (2014). Web.
Streitfeld, D. (2014). European Court lets users erase records on Web. Web.