Can Canadians Ask Google to Remove Old Search Results?

Yes. Canadians can ask Google to remove or de-list some search results about them, but there is no general delete button for an old, embarrassing or unflattering page.

The rules depend on what is showing in Google, whether the original page still exists, what kind of information it contains, where you live and why you want it removed. Google already accepts requests involving certain private information, doxxing and other sensitive content. Quebec has an explicit legal right to request de-indexation in defined circumstances. At the federal level, Canada's Privacy Commissioner says PIPEDA can require Google to de-list a result in limited cases, but Google disputes that interpretation and the issue is now back before the Federal Court.

That last part is new. On August 28, 2026, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada filed an application asking the Federal Court to enforce a de-listing recommendation that Google refused to follow.

The quickest way to know which Google removal route applies

Removing a search result and deleting a webpage are different things. That distinction matters throughout this process.

What changed in Canada in August 2026

The current federal case started with a complaint filed in 2017. The complainant wanted Google to stop returning old news articles when people searched their name. The articles concerned a criminal charge that had been dropped shortly after it was laid. According to the Privacy Commissioner's findings, the complainant said the continuing association caused severe stigma, lost employment opportunities and physical assault.

Google first challenged whether Canada's federal private-sector privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA, applied to its search engine at all.

The Federal Court ruled in 2021 that it did. The Federal Court of Appeal upheld that conclusion in 2023 and also rejected Google's attempt to rely on PIPEDA's exception for information handled solely for journalistic purposes. Those decisions established that Google Search is subject to PIPEDA in this context. They did not settle the broader question of when Google can be legally required to remove a name-linked result.

The Privacy Commissioner finished the underlying investigation in August 2025. It concluded that, in the specific circumstances of that case, the serious harm to the complainant outweighed the limited public interest in continuing to surface the articles when the complainant's name was searched. The Commissioner recommended that Google de-list those articles for searches of the person's name.

Google refused. It said the scope of any Canadian “right to be forgotten,” including the effect on freedom of expression and access to information, should be decided by the courts.

On August 28, 2026, the Privacy Commissioner filed in Federal Court seeking an order implementing the recommendation. As of August 31, 2026, the court has not decided that application.

Does Canada have a right to be forgotten?

There is no single, simple Canada-wide rule equivalent to “anything old can be erased.”

The federal Privacy Commissioner now takes the position that Canadians have a right under PIPEDA to have information de-listed from a name search in limited circumstances. Its 2025 decision used a case-by-case test focused on whether the continued search visibility causes or is likely to cause significant harm, and whether that harm outweighs the public interest in being able to find the information through a search for the person's name.

That interpretation is important, but the current dispute is unresolved because the Commissioner cannot issue a binding order under the present version of PIPEDA. It has gone to Federal Court to seek enforcement.

Quebec is different. Its private-sector privacy law expressly gives people a right to request that a business stop disseminating personal information or de-index a hyperlink attached to their name in certain circumstances. The rule has been in force since September 22, 2023.

So the practical answer in 2026 is:

• Quebec has an explicit statutory de-indexation right, subject to a legal balancing test.
• The federal Privacy Commissioner recognizes a limited de-listing right under PIPEDA, but Google is challenging that interpretation in the courts.
• Google's own removal policies apply separately, including for certain personal information and harmful content, regardless of whether a broader legal right to be forgotten applies.

De-listing a result does not delete the article

A successful de-listing request can be much narrower than many people expect.

In the federal Google case, the Privacy Commissioner recommended removing the connection between the complainant's name and the disputed articles in Google Search. The articles would stay online. A person could still find them on the publishers' websites, through a direct link or potentially through a different search query.

The Commissioner now uses de-listing for this name-specific remedy. De-indexing is broader and means removing a webpage from a search engine's index so that it does not appear for any search query.

Google's own help material makes the same practical distinction. Removing something from Google Search does not remove it from the website that published it.

If the goal is to make the information disappear from the internet entirely, the source website usually has to remove it.

Google already removes some personal information from Search

You do not need to wait for the Federal Court case if the result falls under one of Google's existing policies.

Google says people can request removal of search results containing certain private personally identifiable information, including home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, confidential government identification numbers, bank or credit card numbers, images of signatures or identification documents, private medical records and confidential login credentials.

Google also has processes for doxxing, non-consensual intimate content, certain content involving minors and pages on sites with exploitative removal practices.

For contact information, Google's “Results about you” feature can monitor Search for matches and let eligible users submit removal requests. Google says the feature is rolling out to adults in certain markets, so availability can vary by account and location. A separate detailed removal form is available for personal information requests.

Google can still refuse a request when it considers the information valuable to the public. Its help pages specifically flag government, educational and news sources as categories where public interest can weigh against removal.

If the page was already deleted, use the outdated content tool instead

A stale Google result is usually the easiest situation to fix.

If the website has deleted the page, removed your information or materially changed the content, Google's Refresh Outdated Content tool is designed to update Search after the source has changed. It is not a tool for arguing that a live page is unfair, inaccurate or harmful.

Use it when the information is gone from the current webpage but Google still shows an old title, snippet, image or result.

Open Google's Refresh Outdated Content instructions

If the information is still visible on the live page, use a different route.

Being old or embarrassing is not enough by itself

Age matters, but there is no automatic expiry date for a Google result.

The 2025 federal decision treated the passage of time as one factor when assessing public interest. Google also says age and ongoing relevance can matter under right-to-be-forgotten regimes. An old report about a pending criminal case, for example, can become misleading if the charge was later dropped or a conviction was overturned.

The other side of the test is public interest. Information can be harder to de-list when it concerns a public figure, a current professional role, a serious matter that remains relevant, a government record or recent journalism.

The federal Privacy Commissioner did not say that Google must remove every outdated article. It said the balance favoured de-listing in one case involving highly sensitive information, significant documented harm, events many years in the past and a limited continuing public interest in connecting the articles to the person's name.

Quebec has the clearest legal process

Section 28.1 of Quebec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector allows a person to require a business to stop disseminating personal information or de-index a hyperlink attached to their name when the dissemination violates the law or a court order.

A request can also succeed where all three of these conditions are met:

1. The dissemination causes serious injury to the person's reputation or privacy.
2. That injury is clearly greater than the public interest in knowing the information or another person's interest in free expression.
3. The requested de-indexation, re-indexation or cessation of dissemination goes no further than necessary to stop the continuing injury.

The law tells organizations to consider factors including whether the person is a public figure, whether the information concerns them as a minor, whether it is current and accurate, how sensitive it is, the context in which it is being disseminated, how much time has passed and, for criminal or penal matters, whether a pardon or restriction on access to court records applies.

The Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec says the request should be made in writing to the organization's person responsible for the protection of personal information. The organization must respond in writing, generally within 30 days. If it refuses, does not answer on time or gives an unsatisfactory response, the person can seek review from the Commission. The Commission says that review request generally must be made within 30 days of the refusal or the expiry of the response deadline.

Read the Quebec privacy commission's explanation of de-indexation rights

What to do if an old Google result is about you

1. Check whether the source page is still live

Open the result. If the page is gone or the information has already been removed, use Google's outdated content tool.

If the page is still live, a refresh request will not solve the problem.

2. Identify what kind of information is exposed

If the result contains personal contact information, financial information, identification numbers, medical records, login credentials, doxxing or another category covered by Google's policies, use the personal content removal process.

See Google's Canadian help page for private information removal

3. Ask the publisher or website owner to update or remove the source

This can produce a cleaner result than search-only de-listing. A publisher may agree to update an old article with the outcome of a case, remove unnecessary personal details, correct an error or add a noindex instruction even when it will not delete the page.

A news organization is not automatically required to erase accurate archived journalism simply because it is old. The legal rules around publishers and search engines are not identical.

4. If the page stays live, submit a legal removal request to Google when there is a legal basis

Google directs requests based on country or region-specific law to its Legal Help Center. Include the exact URLs, the name query that produces the result, the relationship between you and the information, and the reason you believe the result should be de-listed.

For an old article, useful evidence can include a court disposition, proof that a charge was stayed or withdrawn, a record suspension, evidence that the page is materially outdated, documentation of serious harm and an explanation of why the information has little continuing public relevance.

Open Google's Legal Help Center

5. Use the Quebec process if section 28.1 applies to you

Send the written request to the organization's privacy officer and keep a copy of the request, the URLs and the response. If the organization refuses or misses the deadline, the Commission d'accès à l'information provides a review process.

6. For a federal privacy complaint, raise the issue with Google first

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada tells people to try to resolve a privacy concern directly with the organization before filing a complaint. If that does not work and the issue falls within the OPC's jurisdiction, a formal PIPEDA complaint may be available.

The OPC does not act as a person's private lawyer. Under the current law it investigates complaints and makes findings and recommendations. In some cases, enforcement has to move to Federal Court, as the current Google dispute shows.

See the federal Privacy Commissioner's complaint process

If the result is hurting a job search

A Google result and an official Canadian criminal record check are separate things. Removing a name-linked search result does not alter police databases, court records or the result of a lawful background check.

If the underlying issue involves a criminal record, charge or police certificate, Canooq's guide to criminal record checks and police certificates in Canada explains what formal checks actually search.

For a broader employment search, Canadian employment basics for newcomers covers hiring, verification and job-search processes, while the Canadian resume guide explains what information normally belongs on an application.

What evidence makes a de-listing request stronger?

A request should be specific enough for Google, a privacy regulator or a court to understand exactly what is being challenged.

Keep:

• the exact URL for every disputed result;
• screenshots showing the result when your name is searched;
• the exact search query that surfaces it;
• the publication date and how much time has passed;
• documents showing what happened after publication, such as a withdrawal, stay, acquittal, appeal result or correction;
• proof that the source page has changed, if you are asking Google to refresh outdated content;
• evidence of serious privacy, safety, employment or reputational harm where that is part of the legal test;
• correspondence with the publisher and Google.

Do not assume that calling an article “inaccurate” makes Google responsible for correcting the publisher's reporting. In its 2025 investigation, the federal Privacy Commissioner concluded that Google's PIPEDA accuracy obligation applies to whether the search result accurately reflects the linked page, not whether the underlying article itself is true. The condition and consequences of the underlying information can still matter when assessing whether continued name-based visibility is appropriate.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make Google delete an old news article about me in Canada?

Google cannot normally delete an article from a publisher's website. It can remove or de-list an eligible result from Google Search. To delete the article itself, the publisher has to remove it or a legal order has to require removal.

Does Canada have the same right to be forgotten as Europe?

No. The European Union has a developed right to erasure and search de-listing under European data protection law. Quebec has an explicit de-indexation provision. Federally, Canada's Privacy Commissioner says PIPEDA creates a limited right to de-listing, but Google disputes that interpretation and the issue is before the Federal Court as of August 31, 2026.

Can Google remove a result just because it is old?

Not automatically. Age can reduce the public interest in keeping a result connected to a person's name, but relevance, sensitivity, accuracy, public role, free expression and the nature of the information can also matter.

What if Google still shows information that a website already removed?

Use Google's Refresh Outdated Content tool. It is specifically designed for pages or images that no longer exist or have materially changed while Google still shows an older version.

What if the result shows my address or phone number?

Google accepts requests involving personal contact information. If “Results about you” is available in your account, it can help find matching results and submit removal requests. Google's detailed personal information removal form is another route.

What happens if Google refuses a Canadian legal removal request?

For a privacy issue, keep Google's response and the material supporting your request. Quebec residents may have a review route through the Commission d'accès à l'information when the provincial law applies. A PIPEDA complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada may be available for matters within federal jurisdiction. Complex cases involving defamation, court records, criminal history or an urgent safety risk can require legal advice.

Sources

• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: Notice of application filed with Federal Court in connection with search engine de-listing investigation, August 28, 2026
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: PIPEDA Findings #2025-002
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: Timeline of the Google de-listing investigation
• Federal Court of Appeal: Google LLC v. Canada (Privacy Commissioner), 2023 FCA 200
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: Report a concern
• Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec: Your rights, including de-indexation
• Légis Québec: Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, section 28.1
• Google Search Help: Find and remove personal info in Google Search results
• Google Search Help: Remove private information from Google Search
• Google Search Help: Refresh outdated content
• Google Legal Help: Right to be Forgotten overview

Last verified August 31, 2026. This article provides general information about privacy and search-result removal. It is not legal advice. Laws, Google policies and court decisions can change.