Truth & Advocacy By Calvin-Lee Hardie – Inverness

When your name appears in search results next to false, outdated, or harmful claims — it can feel like the internet has frozen you in time. Even when the content is misleading or no longer relevant, it can follow you for years.

That’s where the Right to Be Forgotten comes in.

🔐 What Is the Right to Be Forgotten?

Under UK GDPR Article 17, you have the legal right to request the removal of personal data — including search engine listings — when:

• The content is no longer relevant
• It causes ongoing harm or distress
• It’s inaccurate, misleading, or published without a legal basis
• There is no overriding public interest in keeping it indexed

This isn’t about censorship — it’s about protecting people from digital damage that persists unfairly and indefinitely.

🧭 What I’ve Done

I’ve submitted a formal request to Google asking them to de-index specific URLs from their search engine. These include:

• Harmful or misleading press articles
• Posts that violate my image rights or misuse personal information
• Harassment or defamation published through third-party platforms

This is part of a wider effort to rebuild control over my digital identity and prevent further harm caused by automated search results.

💡 How You Can Do It Too

If you’re in the UK and facing similar issues, you can submit your own request. Here’s how:

1. Go to Google’s Legal Removal Request Form
2. Select “Right to Be Forgotten / Outdated Content”
3. Submit:
   
   • The URLs you want removed
   • The exact search terms your name appears under
   • A clear explanation of how the content is harmful, misleading, or no longer relevant
   • Proof of identity if needed (redact unnecessary information)
5. Wait for a response — which may take 1–3 weeks
6. If refused, you can request a re-review or complain to the ICO

🔍 Why It Matters

Online harm doesn’t always come from trolls or hackers — sometimes it comes from outdated headlines, misleading posts, or platform inaction. Even after content is deleted from a site, Google can keep showing it in search results for months or years.

The Right to Be Forgotten is a tool to fix that — and to fight back.

🔗 Explore More

Read more about my journey through digital harm, defamation, and reputation recovery on my homepage.