03/02/2020
CURIA - Documents
information, in situations such as that at issue in the main proceedings a fair balance should be sought
in particular between that interest and the data subject’s fundamental rights under Articles 7 and 8 of
the Charter. Whilst it is true that the data subject’s rights protected by those articles also override, as a
general rule, that interest of internet users, that balance may however depend, in specific cases, on the
nature of the information in question and its sensitivity for the data subject’s private life and on the
interest of the public in having that information, an interest which may vary, in particular, according to
the role played by the data subject in public life.
82 Following the appraisal of the conditions for the application of Article 12(b) and subparagraph (a) of
the first paragraph of Article 14 of Directive 95/46 which is to be carried out when a request such as
that at issue in the main proceedings is lodged with it, the supervisory authority or judicial authority
may order the operator of the search engine to remove from the list of results displayed following a
search made on the basis of a person’s name links to web pages published by third parties containing
information relating to that person, without an order to that effect presupposing the previous or
simultaneous removal of that name and information — of the publisher’s own accord or following an
order of one of those authorities — from the web page on which they were published.
83 As has been established in paragraphs 35 to 38 of the present judgment, inasmuch as the data
processing carried out in the context of the activity of a search engine can be distinguished from and is
additional to that carried out by publishers of websites and affects the data subject’s fundamental rights
additionally, the operator of the search engine as the controller in respect of that processing must
ensure, within the framework of its responsibilities, powers and capabilities, that that processing meets
the requirements of Directive 95/46, in order that the guarantees laid down by the directive may have
full effect.
84 Given the ease with which information published on a website can be replicated on other sites and the
fact that the persons responsible for its publication are not always subject to European Union
legislation, effective and complete protection of data users could not be achieved if the latter had to
obtain first or in parallel the erasure of the information relating to them from the publishers of websites.
85 Furthermore, the processing by the publisher of a web page consisting in the publication of information
relating to an individual may, in some circumstances, be carried out ‘solely for journalistic purposes’
and thus benefit, by virtue of Article 9 of Directive 95/46, from derogations from the requirements laid
down by the directive, whereas that does not appear to be so in the case of the processing carried out by
the operator of a search engine. It cannot therefore be ruled out that in certain circumstances the data
subject is capable of exercising the rights referred to in Article 12(b) and subparagraph (a) of the first
paragraph of Article 14 of Directive 95/46 against that operator but not against the publisher of the web
page.
86 Finally, it must be stated that not only does the ground, under Article 7 of Directive 95/46, justifying
the publication of a piece of personal data on a website not necessarily coincide with that which is
applicable to the activity of search engines, but also, even where that is the case, the outcome of the
weighing of the interests at issue to be carried out under Article 7(f) and subparagraph (a) of the first
paragraph of Article 14 of the directive may differ according to whether the processing carried out by
the operator of a search engine or that carried out by the publisher of the web page is at issue, given
that, first, the legitimate interests justifying the processing may be different and, second, the
consequences of the processing for the data subject, and in particular for his private life, are not
necessarily the same.
87 Indeed, since the inclusion in the list of results, displayed following a search made on the basis of a
person’s name, of a web page and of the information contained on it relating to that person makes
access to that information appreciably easier for any internet user making a search in respect of the
person concerned and may play a decisive role in the dissemination of that information, it is liable to
constitute a more significant interference with the data subject’s fundamental right to privacy than the
publication on the web page.
88 In the light of all the foregoing considerations, the answer to Question 2(c) and (d) is that Article 12(b)
and subparagraph (a) of the first paragraph of Article 14 of Directive 95/46 are to be interpreted as
meaning that, in order to comply with the rights laid down in those provisions and in so far as the
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