Firms to face stiffer fines for breaking E.U. ‘right to be forgotten’ rules

Firms such as Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. will face stiffer fines if they violate Europe’s “right to be forgotten” online rules, according to a draft text agreed by European Union ambassadors on Wednesday, diplomatic sources said.

E.U. member states are negotiating an overhaul of the bloc’s outdated privacy laws in a bid to make them more harmonized and relevant for the rise of the Internet.

A draft proposal from Latvia, which holds the E.U.’s rotating presidency, suggests three levels of fines for companies breaching the rules, ranging from 0.5% to 2% of a firm’s annual worldwide turnover, depending on the gravity of the data breach.
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