MADRID (AP) — The European Court of Justice is hearing a case that pits Spain's data protection agency against search engine giant Google over the thorny issue of "the right to be forgotten" online.

A Spanish court sought Tuesday's hearing in Luxembourg to clarify if Google is subject to Spanish and European data protection laws.

In the case — one of many between Spain and Google — a person found that keying their name into Google shows a newspaper link to a property auction years ago owing to payment failure. The person wants the link removed, which the agency says Google should do. Google believes that's the newspaper's responsibility.

A ruling isn't expected for months.

If it goes in Spain's favor, Google could be made to erase documents people feel violate their privacy.