Google Inc. may be asked to delete personal data from its search engines after the top court of the European Union granted the citizens their "right to be forgotten."

The EU Court of Justice said links and personal information in the search engine must be deleted if it harms a person's fundamental rights, according to Bloomberg.

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The tribunal ruled that a person may request the firm to remove personal information and ask a court to intervene in the event that the company refuses to do so. The court said Google must follow the EU law.

Brussels' spokesman for Google, Al Verney, said the EU court's ruling was "disappointing" for search and online publishing firms.

The London-based pro-freedom of expression group, Index on Censorship, said the decision steps on the right to freedom of expression because it allows anyone to erase their personal history even if it is true and even if the original source remains unchanged.

A Spanish court consulted EU's court when Google challenged an order to remove information about a man who failed to pay taxes and had his house auctioned off. The news was published by La Vanguardia in 1998 and the story could still be accessed via Google search.

The right to be forgotten was proposed by the European Commission in 2012 as part of a major reconstruction of data-protection regulations. Today's ruling covers all the courts within the EU's 28-nation boundary.

In an emailed statement, Spain's Data Protection Agency head, Jose Luis Rodriguez Alvarez, said the case should become a "turning point" for the search giant.

He also said Google has repeatedly challenged the Spanish authority in similar cases where the firm refused to take down personal information.

According to the commission's spokeswoman Mina Andreeva, the EU data-protection law is applicable to all search engines operating in Europe.