Canada’s privacy watchdog eecommends Google remove sensitive search results to protect individual’s rights

In a recent decision dated 27 August 2025, Canada’s privacy authority, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC), has recommended that Google remove certain outdated and sensitive search results that appear when a person’s name is typed into the search engine. The investigation focused on whether Google’s actions complied with Canada’s federal privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

What was the issue?

The case began in 2017, when a person filed a complaint with the OPC. They alleged that when someone searched their name on Google, several old news articles appeared that reported on a criminal charge related to non-disclosure of their HIV status. Although the charge was quickly dropped by the authorities because there was no public health risk, the articles still appeared prominently in Google’s search results years later. The complainant said this had led to serious harm, including physical assault, social stigma, and lost job opportunities.

The person asked that these articles be ‘de-listed’ – meaning they would not appear in search results when someone looks up their name, although the articles themselves would still be available on the internet.

What did the investigation find?

The OPC looked into whether Google had broken the law in two ways:

1. Accuracy: Whether Google had displayed inaccurate personal information.
2. Appropriate Use: Whether continuing to show these results was a reasonable use of personal information.

The OPC concluded that the accuracy requirement had not been violated, since Google’s search results correctly reflected the content of the original articles. However, the second point was more serious. The investigation found that continuing to link these articles to the person’s name was not reasonable, because it revealed highly sensitive personal details—including the person’s HIV status and a criminal charge that was never pursued.

Importantly, the OPC noted that the public interest in seeing these results was minimal. The individual was not a public figure, the information was outdated and incomplete, and new legal guidelines suggest that similar charges would likely not be laid today. In contrast, the harm caused to the individual was significant and ongoing.

What did the OPC recommend?

The OPC recommended that Google stop showing the specific articles when people search for the complainant’s name. This would help protect the person’s safety, dignity, and privacy without limiting access to the content for other types of searches.

Google, however, disagreed with the recommendation, arguing that the issue of whether Canadian law includes a right to de-listing should be decided by the courts. As a result, the OPC marked the complaint as well-founded but unresolved.