The territorial effect of the right to be forgotten after Google v CNIL

Abstract

Abstract In Google v CNIL, the Court of Justice has ruled that the right to be forgotten does not compel a search engine to delist a website in its non-European versions. At first sight, Google v CNIL therefore seriously undermines the effectiveness of the right to be forgotten. However, further analysis reveals that this conclusion is premature. First, the effectiveness depends on the requirements on the measures to prevent or at least seriously discourage users in the European Union from accessing the delisted website through a search with the name of the data subject as a search criterion. Next, the effectiveness of the right to be forgotten depends on the requirements of national standards of protection of fundamental rights. The GDPR does not prohibit member states from ordering search engines to also delist a website in non-European versions.