Google has been slapped with an $8 million (75 million Kronor) by Sweden’s Data Protection Authority (DPA) for failing to comply with the right-to-be-forgotten rules.
Europe in 2014 had introduced the “right-to-be-forgotten” rule which allowed users to remove negative private information from internet searches and other directories. Since Google dominates the search space, it has received the maximum number of de-indexing requests. The “right-to-be-forgotten” rule was more empowered with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which was implemented in 2018.
DPA reportedly said in its ruling that Google failed to “properly remove” two search results which it was ordered way back in 2017. “In one of the cases, Google has done a too narrow interpretation of what web addresses needed to be removed from the search result listing,” the DPA is quoted as saying. “In the second case, Google has failed to remove the search result listing without undue delay.”
Interestingly enough, Sweden’s DPA has also asked Google not to inform the website operators about the take downs under “right-to-be-forgotten” rule.
Google has faced several fines from the European Union in the past. The company has come under scanner primarily for its market monopoly as well as how it handles users’ private data. Last month, a European Union judge sought a bigger fine on Google.
He said that the 2.4 billion-euro ($2.6 billion) fine didn’t affect Google much since it was only “a small amount of your cash in hand, so not actually that eye-catching in the light of day.”