Judicial interactions with the court of justice and the application of the right to be forgotten by national courts

Abstract

EU data protection law has always taken into account the potential overlap, if not conflict, between freedom of expression and data protection. The conflict between the right to be informed, which is protected under freedom of expression, and the so-called 'right to be forgotten' emerged clearly in the CJEU's Costeja v Google Spain (C-131/12) decision. Although the CJEU specifically addressed search engines in its ruling creating a right to delisting, the case had a considerable impact on the jurisprudence of national courts. Judicial decisions in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy show that national courts have used the criteria identified by the CJEU in its judgment. At the same time, they have extended their application to digital media and they have also deepened analysis on freedom of expression – a dimension that was missing in the CJEU's adjudication.