What can we delete from the internet (And what does the law say)
The current legal framework, driven by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Organic Law on Data Protection and Guarantee of Digital Rights (LOPDGDD), is a powerful weapon if wielded correctly. We primarily operate in three main areas to clear your name:
1. Official Data (BOE and Official Gazettes): One of the most frequent queries at our firm. A Social Security attachment, an old traffic fine, or a municipal ordinance do not have to be eternally in the public domain. We apply the right to be forgotten by demanding that search engines implement technical exclusion codes, forever breaking the link between your name and that official bulletin in search results.
2. Media and Forums There is a very fine line between freedom of information and your Right to Privacy. If a newspaper published years ago that you were investigated for a crime, but justice ultimately acquitted you or the crime has already been served, that news loses its current «public relevance». Case law supports us in demanding that the media hide your personal data or that Google de-index the news, because keeping it visible is an illegal extrajudicial sentence.
3. Harassment, Defamation and Fake Reviews: Anonymity on the internet is a false illusion. If an unscrupulous competitor is sinking your business's rating on Google Maps with fake reviews, if someone is defaming you on a forum, or if you are the victim of the publication of intimate photos without consent (revenge porn), we act with extreme harshness. We demand the immediate removal of the content and use judicial assistance to unmask the attackers' IP addresses.
Our methodFrom technical deletion to million-pound demand
Tech giants and mainstream media play the long game. They expect you to give up after the first rejected email. Our methodology at FA Abogados combines absolute mastery of digital bureaucracy with the forceful weight of the judicial hammer.
- Phase 1: Technical Requirement and Right to be Forgotten: We are initiating the attack by addressing the responsible party directly. We formally demand that Google, Bing, digital newspapers, or webmasters de-index or remove the URL that is harming you. We base our request on the GDPR and the violation of your fundamental rights, granting them a strict and non-extendable legal deadline to carry out the deletion.
- Phase 2: The sanctioning route (AEPD): If the platform, be it Facebook, a hostile newspaper, or a forum administrator, ignores our legal request or responds evasively, we escalate the level of aggression. We file a formal complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD). This public body has the power to impose very high fines on companies that refuse to delete personal data without legitimate justification.
- Phase 3: The Civil Lawsuit (Legal Representation): On many occasions, deleting the link is not enough because the damage has already been done. If your business has lost turnover or you have suffered demonstrable psychological damage, we file claims in the Courts for violation of the right to honour, privacy and image. We pursue the responsible party to pay severe compensation for moral damages and economic loss.
Criminal and Tax Defence in the courts
Many times, the trail you try to erase on the internet is just the tip of the iceberg of a much deeper legal problem. If a news story points the finger at you for an alleged economic crime, a tax inspection, or fraud, cleaning up your image on Google is vital, but it's not enough. You need a legal team that not only understands algorithms and privacy laws but also dons the robes to defend your freedom and your assets before an investigating judge.
At FA Abogados, we don't leave you alone when the situation becomes truly critical. If you are facing a criminal charge, a tax offence, or a serious disciplinary procedure, we take on your comprehensive defence from minute one. We understand the terror involved in sitting in the defendant's dock or facing the crushing machinery of the Tax Agency. We place ourselves between you and the accusation, taking on all the pressure of the process so that you can continue to breathe with the security of being protected by the best.
Our intervention as your defence lawyers covers the areas where your reputation and your freedom are at greatest risk:
- Economic and Corporate Criminal Law We fiercely represent and defend you if you are accused of misappropriation, fraud, money laundering, or corporate offences. We dismantle unfounded accusations fuelled by the press headlines with technical evidence.
- Tax Defence and Taxation If the tax authorities are pursuing you for alleged tax fraud or imposing disproportionate penalties that threaten to ruin you, we do not back down. We take your case to the economic-administrative courts or the criminal jurisdiction to protect your finances and avoid prison sentences.
- Cybercrime and Digital Accusations If you are unjustly accused of revealing secrets, computer damage, or identity theft, we use our combined technological expertise with criminal procedural strategy to prove your innocence and dismantle the accusation.
Winning in court is the prior and definitive step to clear your name both on the street and online. Once we achieve your acquittal or the definitive dismissal of the criminal or tax case, we will use that same judicial resolution as the ultimate weapon. With the ruling in your favour, we will demand that the media and Google immediately remove any news that has unjustly criminalised you in the past. This completes the full circle of your defence: we win in court and erase the trace online.
Right to be Forgotten versus. Right to Honour Which way is yours?
It is very common to confuse the simple act of «wanting to remove something from Google» with the right to compensation for public defamation. Depending on your situation, we will activate one legal route or another. This table will help you understand which legal tool we need to use in your case:
| Legal Concept | Right to be Forgotten (GDPR) | Right to Honour (Civil Route) |
|---|---|---|
| Main Objective | Unlinking your name from information on search engines (Google, Bing). | Protecting your reputation from insults, defamation, or the revelation of secrets. |
| What is achieved? | That the news, fine or data stops appearing when someone types your name. | The total withdrawal of the content, a public apology, and an economic sanction for the guilty party. |
| When does it apply? | When the information is true but obsolete, old, and lacks current public interest. | When information is false, injurious, or gravely infringes upon your personal dignity. |
| Is there compensation? | Generally no. Success is purely technical and digital privacy-related. | Yes. Thousands of euros are being claimed for moral damages and economic loss (loss of profit). |
Don't let an algorithm, outdated news, or a malicious individual continue to decide your professional and personal future. You have the right to stop the internet from being your judge and executioner.
