Google v. CNIL: The Territorial Scope of the Right to Be Forgotten Under EU Law

• Mary Samonte ^[1]
  1. [1] Juris Doctor, Fordham University School of Law; Master of Laws, Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas
• Localización: European papers: a journal on law and integration, ISSN-e 2499-8249, Vol. 4, Nº. 3, 2019, págs. 839-851
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
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• Resumen

  • This Insight provides a critical analysis of the judgment of 24 September 2019, Google Inc. v. Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (CNIL), case C-507/17, which clarified the territorial scope of the right to be forgotten under current EU law by holding that it only applies within EU borders. Although the Court ruled against an extraterritorial application of the right, the judgment also provides a more nuanced approach in affording legitimacy to a global application of the right. This Insight reviews the Court’s reasoning and reflects upon the struggles it faced as it decided to set a geographical boundary on a right inextricably linked to the borderless internet. It also discusses the direct impact of the ruling on EU residents seeking to enforce the right and highlights some of its main shortcomings. Lastly, it seeks to assess the judgment’s implications toward the status of harmonisation of data protection in the Union.