Convicted murderer wins case for internet search anonymity

A convicted murderer has won a case in court for more effort to be taken to make sure his name does not appear in internet searches.

The man, who was sentenced to life in prison after shooting two people dead in 1982, was released in 2002 after serving 20 years, but was concerned that his name was still accessible on some internet records.

His full name still appears in an past online article of Spiegel magazine.

In 2012, his case to have his name removed from the Spiegel article was initially dismissed due to him being considered in the public interest and for reasons of freedom of speech.

But the decision from the constitutional court in Karlsruhe on Wednesday overturned this ruling, and found the level of this public interest had decreased over time.

It also said Spiegel magazine should have taken reasonable measures to ensure the man's name became less accessible years after its publication.

Such a ruling could be seen as controversial as it could lead to online publications needing to redact or restrict access to public archives.

The case is now set to be heard in the federal courts.