European Court hears Spanish case against Google
European Court hears Spanish case against Google over people's "right to be forgotten"
MADRID (AP) -- The European Court of Justice is hearing a case that pits Spain's data protection agency against search engine giant Google over the thorny issue of "the right to be forgotten" online.
A Spanish court sought Tuesday's hearing in Luxembourg to clarify if Google is subject to Spanish and European data protection laws.
In the case — one of many between Spain and Google — a person found that keying their name into Google shows a newspaper link to a property auction years ago owing to payment failure. The person wants the link removed, which the agency says Google should do. Google believes that's the newspaper's responsibility.
A ruling isn't expected for months.
If it goes in Spain's favor, Google could be made to erase documents people feel violate their privacy.
