Frequently asked questions about search engines

Contact the search engine directly to request the erasure of a search result. Out of the search engines, at least Google and Bing have released online forms in Finnish and English that you can use to request that the search engine erase a search result that contains your personal data. Yahoo has a form in English.

Instructions on how to request the erasure of a search result

• Google (Google website)
• Bing (Bing website)
• Yahoo (Yahoo website)

The search engine is required to reply to your request within one month. If the requests are numerous or complex, the search engine can reply that it needs more time to process them. If the search engine announces that it needs more time for processing, the deadline for replying will be three months from your original request. Wait for the search engine's reply. Notifying you of a longer processing time does not mean that the search engine will refuse to erase the data.

If the search engine refuses to erase the data you have requested, it must state the reasons for its refusal. The refusal must always be based on law. If you feel that the search engine did not have legal grounds for its refusal, you can contact the Data Protection Ombudsman, if necessary.

If you have already requested the erasure from the search engine and it has refused to erase the search result, you can ask the Data Protection Ombudsman to investigate the matter. If the search engine has not refused to remove the search result links, the Data Protection Ombudsman cannot deal with the matter.

When asking the Data Protection Ombudsman for help

• state that you have requested the erasure from the search engine and received a negative response to your request
• state your own contact details and the search results, the erasure of which you have requested
• attach the refusal you received from the search engine.

Notification to the Data Protection Ombudsman

You can request erasure directly from the website publisher. Usually websites include information about the administrator, to whom you can send a request on the erasure of data. When the data has been erased from the website that published it, the data will also be erased from search engines in the course of time.