An old news article still follows your name

When an article outlives its news value

A local paper wrote about your company’s bankruptcy in 2012. A regional site reported a neighbours’ dispute with your full name. A student newspaper quoted you in a story you now regret. The facts were news once. Years later the article is still the second result for your name, and it shapes every first impression.

Two parties can change that. The publisher controls the page: it can anonymise your name, add an update or tell search engines not to index it. Google controls the search result: it can stop showing the page for searches on your name. We address both, because each route has different rules.

Press archives: what courts and press councils say

Newspapers have a strong right to keep archives. Courts still accept that, after enough time, a private person’s name may be taken out of an old story.

These rulings help an argument. They do not oblige a given publisher to act. NetClearer is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. For an old article in a French-language newspaper, our French site explains delisting of old press articles.

What we do, step by step

1. We read the article and check dates, your role in it, and whether you are or were a public figure.
2. You sign a mandate and send ID. We write to the publisher’s editor or data protection officer, the same day you order, asking for the mildest change that solves the problem: anonymisation, an update or a no-index tag.
3. In parallel, we file a delisting request with Google for the searches on your name.
4. If the publisher refuses, we prepare the complaint to the press council (Raad voor de Journalistiek, Pressenævnet) or to your data protection authority. Where the form must come from you, you sign and send it.
5. We report each answer to you.

Who has a good case, and who does not

• Good chances: a private person, a minor at the time, a small or old matter, a story that ended well (charges dropped, debts paid).
• Weaker chances: a politician, a senior manager about the job they still hold, a serious crime, a story from the last few years.
• Not our work: asking a court to order a newspaper to delete an article. For that, consult a lawyer in your country.

Price: €29 incl. VAT per link; the publisher request and the Google request for the same article count as one link. No refund once your request has been filed.