How to Write and Submit a GDPR Request for Content Removal
Janaya Jensen • October 23, 2019
An important part of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) is access to the ‘right to be forgotten’ forms. This highly controversial and misunderstood data privacy regulation enacted by the European Union gives people the right to have information related to them removed from the system after submitting a request.
Many censorship advocates and free right activists are of the view that people shouldn’t be able cherry pick the content that is hidden from the public eye.
Yet the legislation has now been made a part of law, which means that if a person files for data removal, the data must be removed comprehensively. The end result should leave no traces of the original information in place.
The subject matter picked up momentum when a Spanish citizen asked Google to remove data related to the repossession of his house, claiming it was no longer accurate.
A Spanish Court accepted his request, so did the European Union Court of Justice. The internet search engine giant was forced to comply.
This unofficially established the fact that any information that is out of date or inaccurate is allowed to be removed without a trace after the concerned parties submit a request.
The incident kick-started a trend where people began submitting requests for content removal , and for all the right reasons. Online reputation management has become an issue of concern for many people because it is extremely simple to set up a fake, anonymous profile and start a smear campaign against a person or an organisation.
The European Union’s GDPR regulation makes it possible for people to force otherwise unwilling organisations to remove content or face hefty fines to the tune of millions of pounds. Many online review companies such as Yelp, Google Reviews, and of course, Ripoff Report, have so far been enjoying immunity from libel under the guise of various internet laws. Not anymore.
These online companies inadvertently – or through a carefully designed business model – act as enablers of hate speech and derogatory smear campaigns. When confronted, the companies would cry “freedom of speech” and hide under the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA).
The GDPR has completely upended this trend and has given the ‘right to be forgotten’ into the hands of the common man. More people than ever before are asking internet companies to remove information related to them from public databases, and they are left with no other option than to comply.
This has become such a big issue that Google has established an easy to use system that accepts and processes data removal requests. According to Google, about 650,000 people have made requests to remove 2.5 million links. Yet Google, on average, takes down only 4 in 10 links.
This is because the ‘right to be forgotten’ comes with a few important conditions that need to be met before an internet company could be forced to comply with it. For starters, the GPDR is only applicable on EU citizens and is valid only if one or all of the following conditions are met:
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The data is no longer accurate.
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The person ‘withdraws’ their consent of the use of their data and the company has no real purpose in collecting the data.
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The person does not want their data to be used for marketing purposes.
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The collected data threatens the legitimate interests of the person (an example in this case would be sensitive data related to children).
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The methods of procuring the data were unlawful.
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The data is to be erased because of legal obligations (such as court injunctions).
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The data belongs to a minor or the person was a minor at the time when the data was taken, such as pictures and videos.
If the data falls under either one of these points, the organisation must delete the data in a reasonably short period of time. Once the person has submitted a request for removal GDPR form, the company will have around 30 days to remove the data. Failure to comply with a ‘legitimate’ request can result in heavy fines being imposed on the review companies and data controllers.
The GDPR is an unprecedented legislative act that makes it possible for the average person to hold companies accountable for misusing their data. More importantly, it gives more control to businesses that want to improve their online reputation by directly taking the fight to hate campaigners.
Google offers its own online removal tool that can be accessed here . For other internet companies, you will have to submit GDPR consent removal forms. A rough guide on what this form looks like can be seen on GDPR’s official page here . Please remember that you are not obligated to use only this specific form. It does get the job done in terms of educating the reader on what information they need.
You will need to submit documentary evidence to strengthen your application. This includes the following:
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Your identification
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The data subject’s identity if it isn’t the same as above
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Authorisation from the concerned person to submit the request on their behalf (where needed)
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The proper justification for removal of data
This makes it possible for you to remove negative content. It could be a negative answer on Yahoo, a defamatory post on Reddit, information that was procured through illegal means, negative image, and false online reviews.
It is also possible for people to be targeted through blogs, social media posts, YouTube videos, and others. All of these and more can be controlled through GDPR forms.
Get in Touch With Content Removal Specialists Today!
At contentremoval.com , we prioritise your online reputation and know how content removal works. Our team of specialists will employ a range of tools to get negative content related to your company removed, and this includes relying on SEO best practices, using GDPR forms, and other means of removing data.
We do not use jargon to try to confuse you. Contact our consultant today to discuss your online reputation needs. You can reach us here .
