Europe's highest court said that people had the right to influence what the world could learn about them through online searches. Influenced by a case in Spain, the EU court said that people should have the ability to erase their records on the web.
A search engine like Google should allow online users to be "forgotten" after a certain time by erasing links to web pages unless there are "particular reasons" not to, said the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.
The decision highlights the power of search companies to retrieve controversial information while simultaneously placing sharp limits on their ability to do so.
Google said that the company is still studying the advisory ruling, and said that the rules are "disappointing."
