Google Wins Global Delisting Case at European High Court, But Paragraph 72

September 25, 2019

In Google v. CNIL, the Court of Justice for the European Union ruled Google is not required to apply Europeans' requests to de-reference search results globally. The case follows an earlier ruling in Google v. Spain that Europeans have a right to remove links to their personal data in Google search results – the "Right to Be Forgotten." In the most recent case, the Court ruled that "currently there is no obligation under EU law, for a search engine operator…to carry out such a de-referencing on all the versions of its search engine." However, the Court also said that the search operator must "take sufficiently effective measures" to prevent searches for deferenced information from within the EU with a search engine outside of the EU. The Court also stated, in paragraph 72, that national authorities, in some circumstances, could require global delisting. EPIC supported the CNIL's approach contending that "commercial search firms should remove links to private information when asked." EPIC published "The Right to be Forgotten on the Internet: Google v. Spain" an account of the original case by former Spanish Privacy Commissioner Artemi Rallo.

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