MOSCOW, April 20 (RAPSI) – Russians have right to request that links to their personal information be removed from Internet search results, Interfax reported on Monday, citing presidential aide Igor Shchegolev.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) ruled in May 2014 that Internet companies can be made to remove personal information from search engine results, Shchegolev reminded.

Over 12,000 Internet users in the EU filed requests to remove their personal information from the Internet in the first few days after the ruling had been handed down, according to Shchegolev.

Alexander Zharov, the head of communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, told journalists that Russians can already enkoy the right to be forgotten. They can file requests with a court to remove their personal data from the Internet, but not a single lawsuit to this effect has been filed so far.

“As soon as we have a precedent, this provision will be implemented,” Zharov said.

Shchegolev also said that the definition of personal data in Russian legislation should be specified. He said that personal data include not only basic information, but also the user’s behavior profile, habits and world views. Therefore, the notion of personal data must be expanded to better protect users’ rights, he said.