In a nod to European concerns over data protection, Oettinger expressed his support for stiffer rules currently under consideration that would provide Europeans with a greater say over how their online data is used by the likes of Google, Facebook and other internet companies. He also supported the legal principle known as the "right to be forgotten", in which people have the right to ask that search engines no longer produce certain irrelevant or out-of-date information, when a search is done on the basis of the person's name internet searches. Pushing for a credible global common understanding on confidential and personal information of citizens around the world, Oettinger called for the establishment of a UN agency for data protection and data security.