Google grapples with Europe's 'right to be forgotten'

In 2012, a Spanish man went to court to request the removal of a Google search result. The man, who was protected by the European Union's "right to be forgotten" on the internet, wanted the removal of a link that pointed to an article about an auction for his foreclosed home. His case was referred to the European Court of Justice, which resulted in a landmark ruling by the EU that means that Google now has to allow individuals to request the removal of certain links from its search results. The 2014 ruling was designed to allow people the chance to omit "inadequate, irrelevant, or no longer relevant" links about themselves from search results, but Google has complained about its adoption, arguing it infringes on freedom of expression.