Dear Listers,
Interesting development. Learned friends what is your take?
Regards
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Joly MacFie <[email protected]>
Subject: [Internet Policy] ‘Right to be forgotten’ by Google should
apply only in EU, says court opinion
To: “[email protected]” <[email protected]>
(Via Access Now)
The “right to be forgotten”, which enables claimants to request the removal
of links to irrelevant or outdated online information about them, should
not be enforceable globally, the European court of justice (ECJ) has found
in a preliminary opinion.
The controversial power, requiring search engines to prevent access to
material on the internet, should be enforceable only in the EU and not
worldwide, the court’s advocate general, Maciej Szpunar, said. Final
judgments by the ECJ usually endorse initial opinions.
The case related to a dispute between Google and France’s National
Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL), with a
number of UK and international free speech organisations saying that
extending the power could encourage censorship in countries such as China,
Russia and Saudi Arabia.
In his opinion, the advocate general said the right to be forgotten must be
balanced against other “fundamental rights”, such as the right to data
protection, privacy and the legitimate public interest in accessing
information.
Szpunar said if worldwide “de-referencing” was allowed, EU authorities
would not be able to determine a right to receive information or balance it
against other fundamental rights to data protection and to privacy.
