Advancement of the right to be forgotten – analysis of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 24 September 2019 in the case of Google LLC versus Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) – C-507/17

Abstract

The analyzed judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union dated 24th of September 2019 concerning the case Google LLC versus Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (CNIL) – C-507/17, is another judgment that explains the application of the right to be forgotten by the Internet search engine operators. In the judgment, the CJEU focused on analyzing the territorial scope of the application of the abovementioned right. It was important to answer the question whether the right to be forgotten can be used for search engine versions with extensions for countries outside the European Union, assuming that the data subject lives in the EU. In other words, is it possible to use this institution globally and not only within the EU? The author of this article analyzes the judgment in the abovementioned scope, and at the same time compares the decision to other judgments of the CJEU (including in cases C-136/17 and C-18/18), but also the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of M.L. and W.W. against Germany. The author focuses on the potential effects of the decision of the CJEU and its impact on the further functioning of the right to be forgotten in relation to Internet search engine operators.