Microsoft, following Google, began removing personal data of European users from its search engine.

Microsoft has begun accepting requests from European Internet users to remove their personal information from the search results of the Internet search engine Bing, reports the SecurityLab portal. To request deletion of personal data, European users must complete the form on the Bing website.

The request form includes three sections. In the first, the user must indicate their real name, residential address, contact information and attach documents confirming this data. The second section must indicate whether the user is a public person, and the third section contains links that should be removed from search results. All entered data is certified by an electronic signature.

Sending a request to delete data does not give the user any guarantees, since representatives of the Bing search engine reserve the right to verify the accuracy of the information specified in the request.

Thus, Microsoft is complying with a May decision of the European Court of Justice , according to which IT companies that operate search engines are responsible for the dissemination of personal data appearing on the web pages of third parties, and are obliged to respond to requests to remove this data.

At the same time, the founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, criticized this court decision, calling the right to remove information “the right to censor something that does not suit someone.”

Let us recall that Google posted a similar form in early June, and in the first hours of its operation, more than 12 thousand requests to delete personal data were received.