The right to erasure — “right to be forgotten” — is narrower than the headlines suggest, but wider than controllers claim. Article 17 UK GDPR sets out specific grounds, and controllers who refuse without reason find themselves on the wrong side of an ICO complaint.
The six grounds
Article 17(1) sets out when erasure applies:
- (a) Data no longer necessary for the purpose originally collected
- (b) Consent withdrawn and no other legal basis
- (c) Objection under Article 21 upheld
- (d) Unlawfully processed
- (e) Legal obligation to erase under UK/EU law
- (f) Data collected in relation to information society services offered to a child
The exemptions
Article 17(3) exempts where processing is necessary for:
- Freedom of expression and information
- Compliance with legal obligation
- Public interest in public health
- Archiving / scientific / historical research / statistics
- Establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims
Google and search engines
Google Spain C-131/12 established the right to de-index search results. Google provides a removal form. Refusals can be challenged to the ICO. Criteria: relevance, currency, public figure status, role played at the time.
Employer records
Most employer retention periods (HMRC 6 years, pension 40+ years, safeguarding indefinite for children) will defeat erasure. What can usually be erased: photographs, performance reviews beyond retention period, internal gossip emails, marketing consent records once withdrawn.
Let Chris draft this for you
UK GDPR is precise. The remedy windows are fixed. Chris drafts SARs, ICO complaints, erasure requests, and Article 82 damages claims with the statutory scaffolding that makes controllers respond properly.
Structure — the Litigant Standard
1. Identify the data
Specific records, categories, time periods, locations in the controller’s systems.
2. The ground
“I request erasure under Article 17(1)(a) UK GDPR because the data is no longer necessary for the original purpose of [X].”
3. Address anticipated exemptions
“There is no applicable exemption under Article 17(3) because [reason].”
4. Downstream notification
“Under Article 19 UK GDPR, please notify any third parties to whom the data was disclosed.”
5. Timeline and escalation
“One-month response period under Article 12(3). ICO complaint will follow non-compliance.”
Can Chris draft erasure requests?
Yes. Upload the controller details, the data concerned, original purpose, any correspondence. Chris drafts erasure requests with ground-specific framing, exemption rebuttals, and escalation path. £30 per request.
Prepare to win. Plan not to fail.
Data minimisation is a principle. Erasure is its teeth. Chris drafts the bite.
Your data. Your rights. Enforceable.
Chris drafts to the standard the Information Commissioner’s Office expects — statutory citations, remedy specific, timeline firm. Refund before we file a document that isn’t ready.
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