When there is nobody to write to
A website with no legal notice, hosted outside the European Union, with the domain owner hidden and no reply to any email. It is the most frustrating situation, because Spanish and European data protection laws cannot always be applied directly to whoever is behind it.
But an anonymous website does not mean nothing can be done. Every website depends on someone: a hosting provider, a domain registrar, a service that protects it and, above all, a search engine that shows it.
We work remotely and in English with clients from any country. What matters is that the content harms you and that it can be found, especially from Spain or elsewhere in Europe.
The routes we use
- Copyright notices. If the website uses your photos, texts or videos, a takedown notice can be sent to the host under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which many providers apply even if they are not in the United States.
- Google's copyright form. It allows you to request that pages infringing your copyright be removed from search results worldwide.
- Abuse complaints to the provider and registrar. Hosting providers and registrars have abuse channels and acceptable use policies that prohibit, for example, fraud, harassment or publishing personal data.
- Digital Services Act. If the service targets users in the European Union, it has obligations even if it is based outside, including dealing with notices of illegal content.
- Google delisting from the EU. Even if the website stays online, you can ask Google not to show it when your name is searched. See right to be forgotten.
Evidence first
Before starting any route, it is advisable to certify the content. If the website disappears or changes, you will have valid evidence if you decide to report it. We explain how in IT forensic expert.
The limits, honestly
- Some hosts systematically ignore complaints. It happens, and there is not always a way to force them.
- Delisting under the right to be forgotten applies to the European versions of Google. The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that there is no general obligation to apply it worldwide, although from Europe the effect is what matters most.
- If the website moves to another host, the process has to start again with the new provider.
- Identifying whoever is behind it is only possible, where appropriate, through a criminal complaint and international judicial cooperation, which is slow.
How we work
- We identify who hosts the website, who registered the domain and which services it uses.
- We explain which routes have real prospects and which do not.
- We prepare and send the notices, and follow them up.
- In parallel, we request delisting from search engines to reduce the damage from the outset.
Tell us which website concerns you in the free analysis and we will tell you what can be done.