Grundulis Consulting advises companies to ensure they don’t breach “right to be forgotten” ruling

DUBLIN - May 22, 2014 - PRLog -- On the 13th may, the European Court of Justice ruled against Google in a case that has caused considerable controversy and worry for many organisations and businesses within the EU.

The case concerned the right of a Spanish man to have Google delete links to stories about his home being repossessed in 1998. Google argued that they should not be required to delete the links as they were pointing to an article on a news website. The court disagreed on the principle that the particulars of the repossession case no longer had any real significance and because the links were top of the Google search results when you searched for the gentleman’s name it was harming his reputation.

Obviously this has major implications for Google. They are in the business of collecting and indexing data without ever getting formal permission from anyone. This ruling effectively says that Google may now have to remove links, on demand, if they point to content that has no public interest value and which concern a specific individual.

Smaller companies need to be concerned as well. An effective data collection and  management policy is vital to ensure any business only collects the data it should and that it can be deleted easily if required by the various EU and national data protection regulations.

Grundulis Consulting can help you make sure you comply with any relevant data protection legislation by ensuring your data collection and management strategies are effective. We can also help you introduce tools and techniques to batter manage your data and keep your customers and clients informed of what you do with their details.

Where data protection is concerned it is always best to ensure you match or exceed legal requirements so that your prevent potentially expensive mistakes. A breach of Irish Data Protection law could potentially result in a fine of up to €250,000 (http://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Offences_and_Penalties_...).