DPA case 38/2023 – Complaint Upheld (Greece, 2023)

Google claimed that it would not grant the request to delete the links, as the disputed links relate to matters of substantial public interest regarding her professional life. Google added that the data subject is allegedly the beneficiary of a possible incident, as she was paid on her pervious position with public money derived from the taxation of citizens. Citizens have an interest in being informed about the manner of her appointment, especially in the event that there are suspicions that it was not carried out transparently. The data subject pointed the negative effects of the publicity due to the disputed links in relation to her attempt to find a job. She presented her resume, stating that the assistant position she held was offered to her because of her qualifications, while at the same time she submitted e-mails she had sent to prospective employers. According to the data subject, the deletion request should be granted, as she is not a person of public interest and she had never held a public office, while the information contained in the publications is already outdated and not updated and there is no public interest for their preservation . Due to the fact that it becomes impossible to find a job, her right to privacy and above all to free access to the labor market is unduly affected, resulting in her economic hardship with consequences for her psychological state as well.On her professional employment , Google claimed that they invited her to provide information about her current employment status or evidence that she has left the job to which the links in question refer, but the data subject did not provide any and, therefore, in the absence of evidence that demonstrate that the data subject has changed her line of work, the content at issue should not be removed from search engine results as it is still relevant to the public's interest in information. Regarding the data subject's claim of difficulty finding a job ,Google countered that the fact tha