Misplaced Pages

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40-684: Google Spain SL, Google Inc. v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, Mario Costeja González (2014) is a decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). It held that an Internet search engine operator is responsible for the processing that it carries out of personal information which appears on web pages published by third parties. The outcome of the ruling is that an Internet search engine must consider requests from individuals to remove links to freely accessible web pages resulting from

80-526: A "renewable 6-year term, jointly by national governments". The CJEU's specific mission is to ensure that "the law is observed" "in the interpretation and application" of the Treaties of the European Union . To achieve this, it: The composition and functioning of the courts are regulated by the Rules of Procedure. The CJEU was originally established in 1951 as a single court called the Court of Justice of

120-603: A right of erasure. The court considered the material scope of the Directive first. The court rejected Google's submission, supported by the Advocate General, that it could not be regarded as a data controller within the scope of the Data Protection Directive , adopting a literal interpretation of article 2(b), giving definitions and relying on Lindqvist . Regarding the territorial scope of

160-445: A rule, not only the economic interest of the operator of the search engine but also the interest of the general public in finding that information upon a search relating to the data subject's name", but that would not be the case if the role played by the data subject in public life is such "that the interference with his fundamental rights is justified by the preponderant interest of the general public in having, on account of inclusion in

200-423: A search on their name. Grounds for removal include cases where the search result(s) "appear to be inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant or excessive in the light of the time that had elapsed." If the search engine rejects the request, the individual may ask relevant authorities to consider the case. Under certain conditions, the search engine may be ordered to remove the links from search results. The decision

240-418: Is that it shouldn't have to; there is an inherent value in the free circulation of information and ideas which the court has completely overlooked. "Privacy by default" will encourage politicians, celebrities and other public figures to put their lawyers on track when they find inconvenient information online. And as the use of a search engine like Google is essential for finding information, the elimination from

280-663: Is the judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City , Luxembourg , this EU institution consists of two separate courts: the Court of Justice and the General Court . From 2005 to 2016, it also contained the Civil Service Tribunal . It has a sui generis court system, meaning 'of its own kind', and is a supranational institution. The CJEU

320-548: Is the chief judicial authority of the EU and oversees the uniform application and interpretation of European Union law , in co-operation with the national judiciary of the member states. The CJEU also resolves legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions, and may take action against EU institutions on behalf of individuals, companies or organisations whose rights have been infringed. The CJEU consists of two major courts: Judges and advocate generals are appointed for

360-565: Is to advise the court on new points of law. It is not binding on the court. In this case the advocate general was Niilo Jääskinen from Finland. Advocate General Jääskinen made frequent reference in his opinion to the fact that the Data Protection Directive predates the Google era (it dates from 1995 and, as of May 2018, has been replaced by the General Data Protection Regulation ). On the first set of questions,

400-639: The University of Oxford , Frank La Rue , who served as UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, from August 2008 to August 2014, and Jimmy Wales , a founder of Misplaced Pages. The committee recommended that only national links, not global links, should be removed, and that publishers should be notified of the removals and have the right to challenge them. On 7 February 2015, The Times reported that

440-411: The "automatic withdrawal of links to any objected contents or to an unmanageable number of requests handled by the most popular and important Internet search engine service providers." The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that an Internet search engine operator is responsible for the processing that it carries out of personal data which appear on web pages published by third parties, upholding

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480-466: The Directive, the court observed that Google Spain is a subsidiary of Google Inc. on Spanish territory and, therefore, an 'establishment' within the meaning of the directive. The court rejected Google Inc.'s argument that it was not carrying out its data processing in Spain, holding that the promotion and selling of advertising space by its subsidiary Google Spain was sufficient to constitute processing within

520-881: The European Coal and Steel Communities. With the Euratom and the European Economic Community in 1957 its name changed to the Court of Justice of the European Communities ( CJEC ). In 1988 the Court requested the Commission to create a Court of First Instance and in 2004 it added the Civil Service Tribunal. The Civil Service Tribunal are for issues of public employment. The Treaty of Lisbon in 2009 renamed

560-407: The European Union . Article 14(a) of the Directive, relating to the data subject's rights, allows the data subject, at least in the cases covered by articles 7(e) and 7(f), to object at any time on compelling legitimate grounds relating to his particular situation to the processing of data relating to him, save where otherwise provided by national legislation. Article 12(b) of the directive, relating to

600-413: The advocate general found that Google's business model brought Google Inc. and Google Spain within the scope of the Directive. On the second set of questions concerning the material scope of the Directive, the advocate general held that Google could not be regarded as a data controller: Google's search activities involve the processing of personal data, but Google does not thereby become a data controller for

640-614: The chairwoman of the Article 29 Working Party, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin , has warned Google that it faces legal action if it fails to heed its warnings over the way Google is policing the ruling. The working party wants Google to stop notifying publishers and to remove its links globally. Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union ( CJEU ) ( French : Cour de justice de l'Union européenne or " CJUE "; Latin : Curia )

680-431: The company to remove certain links about them from its search results. On 19 June 2015, Google announced it would remove links to nonconsensual pornography ("revenge porn") on request. Commentators noted that this was not the same thing as implementing a "right to be forgotten" as the company already has policies in place dealing with sensitive personal data such as social security numbers and credit card numbers. However,

720-482: The consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog subsequently called on Google to extend the right to be forgotten to US users, filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission . The court's reductionist approach is to require that all published information must have a specific public interest justification. This approach is profoundly erroneous and stems in large part from failing to keep in mind

760-410: The content of the material when the processing is carried out in a haphazard, indiscriminate and random manner. In the advocate general's view the sense of the Directive was that "the controller is aware of the existence of a certain defined category of information amounting to personal data and the controller processes this data with some intention which relates to their processing as personal data". In

800-471: The court held that in the present case Article 7(f) of the directive, relating to legitimacy of processing, requires a balancing of the opposing rights and interests of the data subject (González) and the data controller (Google), taking into account the data subject's rights deriving from articles 7 (respect for private and family life) and 8 (protection of personal data) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of

840-556: The court system to the "Court of Justice of the European Union" and renamed the CJEC to the "Court of Justice". The working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union is French . The Court of Justice of the European Union embraces the substantive equality interpretation of the European Union anti-discrimination law. 49°37′12″N 6°08′22″E  /  49.62000°N 6.13944°E  / 49.62000; 6.13944 Niilo J%C3%A4%C3%A4skinen In 1990, Jääskinen

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880-549: The data relating to him be removed, arguing that the forced sale had been concluded years before and was no longer relevant. The newspaper replied that erasing his data was not appropriate since the publication had been on the order of the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Costeja then contacted Google Spain in February 2010, asking for the erasure of the links to the announcements. Google Spain forwarded

920-460: The data subject's right of access to the data, allows the data subject to request erasure of the data. Such request may be made directly of the controller, who must then duly examine the merits of the request. If the request is not granted, the data subject may then direct the request to a supervisory authority or the judicial authority so that it carries out the necessary checks and orders the controller to take specific measures accordingly. Regarding

960-537: The data. On 30 July 2010, the Director of AEPD rejected the complaint against the newspaper but upheld the complaint against Google Spain and Google Inc., calling on them to remove the links complained of and make access to the data impossible. Google Spain and Google Inc. subsequently brought separate actions against the decision before the Audiencia Nacional (National High Court of Spain). Their appeal

1000-464: The directive. In such cases, where the data is incompatible with the provisions of article 6(1)(e) to (f) of the directive, relating to data quality, the information and links in the list of the results must be erased. It is not necessary that the information is prejudicial to the data subject. The ruling balances the right to privacy and data protection in European law with the legitimate interest of

1040-526: The draft and the final version this was changed to a right to request erasure for a set of specific reasons. In 1998 the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia published two announcements in its printed edition regarding the forced sale of properties arising from social security debts. The announcements were published on the order of the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and their purpose

1080-409: The event that the court did not agree with his finding that Google was not a data controller, the advocate general considered the third set of questions relating to a right to be forgotten . He held that the rights of freedom of information and expression took precedence over any such right to erasure, and urged the court not to allow case-by-case resolution of such conflicts as that would likely lead to

1120-462: The list of results, access to the information in question". Google subsequently published an online form which can be used by EU citizens or EFTA nationals to request the removal of links from its search results if the data linked is "inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant, or excessive in relation to the purposes for which they were processed". On 31 May 2014, the first day of the service, Google received over 12,000 requests from people asking

1160-415: The meaning of the directive. To have ruled otherwise would have been to undermine the effectiveness of the directive and the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals that the directive seeks to ensure. The court thus endorsed the Advocate General's view that Google Inc. and Google Spain should be treated as a single economic unit. Concerning the obligations and duties of the operator of a search engine,

1200-515: The opinion of an advocate general was sought by the court. Written proceedings followed by an oral hearing were held on 26 February 2013, at which, besides the parties, the governments of Austria, Greece, Italy, Spain and Poland and the European Commission gave their opinion. Advocate General Niilo Jääskinen gave his opinion on 25 June 2013, after which judgment was given on 13 May 2014. The purpose of an advocate general's opinion

1240-480: The private/public distinction. Most of what is published on the internet has no specific public interest justification and there is no specific public interest which could relate to most pieces of biographical information about an individual. Facebook is an extremely valuable resource for freedom of expression and information sharing, but most of the "personal data" published there be it banal or wacky would not avail itself of any specific public interest defence. The point

Google Spain v AEPD and Mario Costeja González - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-453: The public to access such information, and it does not mandate that information is instantly removed upon request. It distinguishes between public figures and private persons. The Court stressed that Internet search engines profile individuals in modern society in an ubiquitous manner, in a way that could not otherwise have been obtained formerly save only with the greatest difficulty. The data subject's rights must therefore in general override "as

1320-533: The question relating to the so-called right to be forgotten , the court noted that Google Spain, Google Inc., the Greek, Austrian and Polish governments and the European Commission considered that this question should be answered in the negative. The court held, however, that the processing of data which is "inadequate, irrelevant or excessive" (i.e. not merely inaccurate) might also be incompatible with

1360-655: The remaining two years of judge Allan Rosas' mandate. In October 2021 he started a new six years mandate. Jääskinen was in charge of two important cases relating to water. In Case C-525/12, he gave his opinion on the term "water services" in the Water Framework Directive; in Case C-461/13, he gave his opinion on 23 October 2014 on the term "deterioration" in the Water Framework Directive . Both cases are of high relevance for

1400-546: The request to Google Inc., whose registered office is in California, United States, taking the view that this was the responsible body. Costeja subsequently lodged a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency ( Agencia Española de Protección de Datos , AEPD) asking both that the newspaper be required to remove the data, and that Google Spain or Google Inc. be required to remove the links to

1440-452: The results of search engines will provide a convenient and essential tool to suppress information. The EU's Article 29 Data Protection Working Party issued its guidelines on how the ruling should be implemented on 26 November 2014. Google published its advisory committee's report on how the ruling should be implemented on 5 February 2015. Their advisory committee includes Luciano Floridi , Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information at

1480-904: Was appointed as head of the European Law Section of the Ministry of Justice in Finland. In 1995 he was appointed as Advisor and Clerk for European affairs of the Grand Committee of the Finnish Parliament . Between 2000 and 2009 and from October 2015 to October 2019 Jääskinen has served as Judge at the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland . In 2009, he was appointed Advocate General of the European Court of Justice and in 2019 for

1520-489: Was based on: The Audiencia Nacional joined the actions and stayed the proceedings pending a preliminary ruling from the CJEU on a number of questions regarding the interpretation of the Data Protection Directive . These questions fell into three groups. In essence they concerned: All of these questions, also raising important points of fundamental rights protection, were new to the court. Because new points of law were involved,

1560-432: Was claimed as a so-called right to be forgotten , although the Court did not explicitly grant such a right, depending instead on the data subject's rights deriving from Article 7 (respect for private and family life) and Article 8 (protection of personal data) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union . The General Data Protection Regulation was mooted to include a right to be forgotten, but between

1600-408: Was to attract as many bidders as possible. A version of the edition was later made available on the web . One of the properties described in the newspaper announcements belonged to Mario Costeja González, who was named in the announcements. In November 2009, Costeja contacted the newspaper to complain that when his name was entered in the Google search engine it led to the announcements. He asked that

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