Google LLC – Court Ruling (Netherlands, 2019)

The plaintiff is a dentist in Germany but he used to practice in the Netherlands, where he was registered with the [https://www.bigregister.nl/ BIG-register] for healthcare professionals. Τhe Regional Health Care Disciplinary Boards in Amsterdam and Zwolle imposed disciplinary measures on him after complaints about his treatments. The plaintiff asked Google to remove all search results which linked to his name when searching for his name or the combination of his name and the search term "disciplinary law". Google removed some of them but refused to remove the rest claiming its legitimate interest under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, the freedom of expression and the interest of the public in finding information online. The plaintiff on the other hand argued that he exercised his right to be forgotten on the basis of Article 17(1)(a) GDPR and Article 17(1)(c) GDPR and that the balancing test of the conflicting rights and interests should favor his rights and interests. He claimed that Google violated Article 12 GDPR by refusing to remove the links at stake without explaining the reasons why it did so in a transparent, concise and comprehensible form; these links reveal data relating to criminal convictions or otherwise sensitive data and require stricter protection under Article 9 GDPR and Article 10 GDPR, which Google violated. The Court had to assess whether Google had to remove all the links on the grounds of Article 17(1)(a) GDPR and Article 17(1)(c) GDPR or whether the exception of Article 17(3)(a) GDPR about the freedom of expression and information shall be applicable. The Court had to go through this balancing exercise. The Court noted that, although it follows from the case law that the right to privacy and the right to the protection of personal data take precedence over the right to freedom of information when balancing interests, in this case the interference with the the plaintiff's right to privacy was justified by the overriding public interest in acces