Google shared a new report on Wednesday, Nov. 25. The report tells how many people asked Google to delete links about them. This is called the “right to be forgotten.”
What is the “Right to be Forgotten”?
The right to be forgotten is a rule in Europe. It lets a person ask a search engine to hide certain web pages that show personal information. The rule started after a court case in 2014. The court said people can ask for links to be removed if they are old, irrelevant, or harmful.
In simple words, if a news story or a social post hurts you, you can ask Google to hide it from search results. The page stays on the internet, but it does not appear when someone searches your name.
How Many Requests Has Google Received?
Google says it got about 350,000 requests since May 29, 2014. Those requests covered 1,234,092 URLs (web links). The report says the exact number of requests was 348,085. This is a big number for a search engine that handles billions of searches every day.
Out of all the URLs asked to be removed, Google deleted 42%. The remaining 58% stayed in the search results. This shows that Google does not delete every link that is asked for.
Which Countries and Sites Are Most Affected?
The requests came from many European countries. The report lists the United Kingdom, Belgium, Hungary, Poland, France, Austria, Latvia, Germany, Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands. These are the places where most people asked for links to be hidden.
Google also listed the ten domains that had the most URLs removed. They are:
- facebook.com – 10,220 URLs
- profileengine.com – 7,986 URLs
- groups.google.com – 6,764 URLs
- youtube.com – 5,364 URLs
- badoo.com – 4,428 URLs
- plus.google.com – 4,134 URLs
- annuaire.118712.fr – 3,430 URLs
- twitter.com – 3,879 URLs
- wherevent.com – 3,465 URLs
- 192.com – 3,083 URLs
These ten sites only make up about 9% of all the requests. That means many other sites also received removal requests, but in smaller numbers.
How Does Google Decide Which Links to Remove?
Google says a special team in Dublin, Ireland looks at each request. The team works with lawyers and engineers. They use a set of rules to decide.
The rules include:
- Public vs. private person: If the person is a public figure (like a politician or celebrity), the link is more likely to stay.
- Embarrassing information: If the link shows something embarrassing that is not related to the person’s public life, it may be removed.
- Seriousness of a crime: Links about minor crimes may be removed, while serious crimes are more likely to stay.
Google does not tell the public why a specific link was kept or deleted. The company says each case is unique and must be judged on its own facts.
In the United Kingdom, a few newspapers wrote about the removal of links to their stories. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) asked Google to take those links out of search results in August. Google followed the request where it fit the rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “right to be forgotten” mean?
It is a legal right in the European Union that lets a person ask search engines to hide links that contain personal data that is outdated, irrelevant, or harmful.
How many requests has Google received?
Google received about 350,000 requests covering 1.2 million URLs since May 2014.
Why are some links removed and others kept?
Google looks at who the person is, whether the information is embarrassing, and how serious any crime mentioned is. Public figures and serious crimes are less likely to be removed.
Can I ask Google to remove a link about me?
Yes. You can fill out a form on Google’s “right to be forgotten” page. You will need to give details about the URL and why you think it should be hidden.
Does removal affect the original website?
No. The page stays on the internet. It only disappears from Google’s search results.
Understanding these numbers helps us see how big the right‑to‑be‑forgotten system is. It also shows that Google follows a careful process before taking any link away.
Conclusion
Google’s report shows a large number of people using the right to be forgotten. About 42% of the requested URLs were removed, while 58% stayed. The decision process looks at privacy, public interest, and the seriousness of any crime. If you think a link harms you, you can ask Google to review it. The data also reminds us that the internet is a shared space, and balancing privacy with public information is an ongoing challenge.