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The Unexpected Consequences of the EU Right to Be Forgotten: Internet Search Engines as Fundamental Rights Adjudicators

Tzanou, Maria

Authors

Maria Tzanou



Abstract

The right to be forgotten as established in the CJEU's decision in Google Spain is the first online data privacy right recognized in the EU legal order. This contribution explores two currently underdeveloped in the literature aspects of the right to be forgotten: its unexpected consequences on search engines and the difficulties of its implementation in practice by the latter. It argues that the horizontal application of EU privacy rights on private parties, such as internet search engines—as undertaken by the CJEU—is fraught with conceptual gaps, dilemmas, and uncertainties that create confusions about the enforceability of the right to be forgotten and the role of search engines. In this respect, it puts forward a comprehensive legal framework for the implementation of this right, which aims to ensure a legally certain and proportionate balance of the competing interests online in the light of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Acceptance Date Dec 5, 2018
Online Publication Date Jun 12, 2020
Publication Date Jun 1, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Publisher IGI Global
Book Title Personal Data Protection and Legal Developments in the European Union
Chapter Number 14
ISBN 9781522594895
DOI https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-9489-5.ch014
Publisher URL https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/the-unexpected-consequences-of-the-eu-right-to-be-forgotten/255206

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