Brussels (AFP)
The Belgian Data Protection Authority announced on Tuesday that it had imposed a fine of 600,000 euros on Google Belgium for non-compliance with the right to be forgotten requested by a citizen, a "historic" decision for the protection of personal data.
It is the highest fine imposed by ODA to date, the institution said in a statement.
The complainant, whose identity was not disclosed, but presented as a public figure, had asked Google Belgium to "dereference obsolete articles damaging to its reputation" found thanks to the search engine, the statement said.
"Part of the pages he wanted to see dereferenced and concerns a possible political labeling, which he refutes. A second part relates to a complaint of harassment against him, declared unfounded many years ago," explains the press release.
"Google has made the decision not to dereference any of the pages in question," said the APD.
The Authority ruled that Google was responsible for a "serious breach" by refusing to dereference the pages concerning the harassment complaint because "the facts have not been established, are old, and are likely to have serious repercussions for the complainant ".
"Google was negligent, given that the company had evidence of irrelevance and outdated facts," judged the president of the litigation chamber Hielke Hijmans, which treated the complaint.
"This decision is historic for the protection of personal data in Belgium, not only because of the amount of the penalty, but also because it ensures that the full and effective protection of the citizen is maintained in cases linked to large international groups like Google, which has a very complex structure, "said Hijmans.
"This decision is not only important for our Belgian citizens, it is also proof of our ambition to better protect privacy 'online' in collaboration with our European counterparts, which requires concrete actions against actors active at world level ", commented David Stevens, President of the ODA.
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