The European Union's highest court ruled Tuesday that Google and other online search engines must acquiesce to requests by individuals to remove unwanted links to news articles, court documents and other information that shows up during a search for their name.  

The case focused on the "right to be forgotten." Plaintiffs argued that the "right to be forgotten" gives people the right to request Google to remove old information about them from search engines, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The ruling states that individuals can request that search engines remove links that pop up during searches, but the original article or website does not have to be altered or removed. Hence, the ruling only effects search results. 

The case, which began between a Madrid plastic surgeon and Google, changes a ruling that was brought last year by the EU's advocate general. The advocate general offered an opinion last year that operators are not obligated to honor requests to take down links. 

Other search engines, such as Yahoo and Microsoft Corp., which operates Bing, are also affected by the new ruling. 

Richard Cumbley, an information-management and data protection partner at U.K. law firm Linklaters, said the ruling "makes grim reading for Google and will delight privacy advocates in the EU."

The court rules that search engines are responsible for personal data that shows up when web pages link to search results. Hence, individuals can request that Google and other search engines take down links that are published by third parties, like newspapers, which could contain information relating to them when searched by name. 

While the new ruling means search engines much oblige such individuals who request that information by taken down, it doesn't mean they have to comply with every request. But if the operators do not acquiesce, individuals can ask their country's data-protection agencies to delete the links. 

"This is going to have wide implications for the Internet, for the use of the Internet, for the Internet economy," said Christopher Kuner, a partner at the Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati law firm. "It sets up a system whereby search engine providers have to, when requested, take down instances of persons names, independently of what the website they're indexing does."

The court said that results linked to a person's name have a big impact on people's lives, so search engines should oblige individuals' requests to remove certain information. According to the ruling, an "allowable request" would be if the information pertains to the public interest, especially if people are prominent figures in society. 

"This balance may however depend, in specific cases, on the nature of the information in question and its sensitivity for the data subject's private life," the ruling said, and the public interest, "which may vary, in particular, according to the role played by the data subject in public life."

There will be no appeal for the ruling, which can be interpreted broadly. Courts across Europe will now implement the ruling. 

Google said they were "disappointed" in the decision. 

"This is a disappointing ruling for search engines and online publishers in general," Google spokesman Al Verney said. "We are very surprised that it differs so dramatically from the Advocate General's opinion and the warnings and consequences that he spelled out." 

The court case responded to a 2011 request from a Spanish court about privacy laws. The case was brought by individuals against Google with 180 cases brought to court by individuals who were not happy with search results related to their name. 

The court decided to consider the case of Mario Costeja Gonzalez, who was not happy with details about his former social security debts popping up on Google results. The court also considered the case of Hugo Guidotti, a Madrid surgeon who asked Google to remove a 1991 link to a Spanish newspaper about a malpractice suit against him.