Honoralia manages to anonymise news about an acquitted funeral director
The director of a funeral home was accused of alleged sexual abuse during a work trip. After being acquitted, numerous news articles continued to identify him by his full name and image. Honoralia managed to deindex the results on Google and reached an agreement with several media outlets to replace their identity with initials and remove their photograph.
Online reputation lawyers
Google and digital media
Scope of operation
ABC and El País
Counterpart
Right to honour, privacy, and the right to be forgotten
Material
Anonymisation and image removal
Result
Case summary
The client, a director of a funeral home and a former politician, was reported by an intern for alleged sexual abuse that occurred during a work trip.
The accusation received wide media coverage and was published by numerous newspapers, including ABC, EL PAÍS and EL MUNDO. The news reports included his full name, his image, and references to his professional and political activities.
Although the proceedings ended with an acquittal, the publications continued to appear when searching his name online, permanently linking him to an accusation from which he had been acquitted.
What were the parties discussing?
The persistence of the publications meant that anyone searching for the client on the internet would find information relating to the accusation first.
Although some news reports could reflect events that occurred during the procedure, their continued publication with the full name and photograph of the individual concerned caused ongoing damage to their honour, their personal image, and their professional reputation.
Furthermore, the acquittal did not have the same visibility as the initial reports, meaning the client's digital image remained linked to a judicial situation that had already been favourably resolved.
How was the case resolved?
After the preliminary hearing had been held and before the trial took place, Honoralia reached a satisfactory settlement with the media defendants.
As a result, the client's full first and last names were replaced by their initials and their photograph was removed from publications.
The action significantly reduced their identification, preventing the news from further damaging their personal and professional reputation.
A person acquitted should not be indefinitely linked to an accusation on the internet that has already been resolved in their favour.
**The right to be forgotten** refers to the ability of an individual to request the removal of personal information from search engine results, databases, and other online repositories. This right is particularly relevant when the information is considered obsolete, irrelevant, inaccurate, or damaging to an individual's reputation. The concept emerged in the European Union and has since influenced data protection laws globally.
The right to be forgotten allows you to request that certain search results stop appearing when a person is searched for by their full name.
This does not necessarily mean the removal of the news from the outlet's page, but rather prevents the content from being easily found through a nominal search.
In this case, the strategy combined de-indexing from Google with direct action against the newspapers to also achieve anonymisation of the publications and the withdrawal of the image.
Why is this case significant?
This case demonstrates that an acquittal may not be sufficient to repair reputational damage caused by the dissemination of an accusation.
Old news stories can remain accessible for years and continue to shape public perception of the person involved, even if the proceedings have concluded favourably.
It also shows the importance of combining different legal avenues: the right to be forgotten against search engines and the defence of honour and one's own image against the media responsible for publications.
Honoralia's work
The legal team at Honoralia designed a progressive strategy to reduce the client's digital exposure.
The intervention included the analysis of search results, the exercise of the right to be forgotten before Google, requests directed at media outlets, and the subsequent filing of legal actions against those who refused to modify their publications.
The procedure ended with an agreement that allowed the affected individual to remain anonymous and the photographs that facilitated their identification to be removed.
Case file
Customer
Funeral director
Area
Online reputation and the right to honour
Service
Right to be forgotten and actions concerning digital media
Criminal record
Final procedure with acquitting resolution
Result
Replacement of full name with initials and removal of image
Impact
Reduction of identification and recovery of the digital reputation
Case process
1
Reputational damage detection
The client finds that numerous news stories about the accusation continue to appear when searching for their name online.
2
Analysis of the publications
Honoralia reviews the contents, the acquitting resolution, and the presence of the full name and image of the affected person.
3
Right to be forgotten by Google
The de-indexing of results linked to searches carried out using the client's first and last names is requested.
4
Media relations
Given the refusal of certain newspapers to amend their publications, lawsuits are being filed for violation of honour and image.
5
Agreement and anonymisation
Before the trial, an agreement is reached to anonymise the identity with initials and remove the client's photograph.
Legal and practical impact
Protect acquitted people
Prevent a resolved accusation from indefinitely conditioning the affected person's reputation.
Reduce the identification
The substitution of the name with initials and the removal of the image make direct association with the news difficult.
Combine different paths
Integrate the right to be forgotten against search engines with actions directed straight at the media.
Repair the reputational damage
It allows regaining control over digital identity and reducing the professional and personal impact of posts.