Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T17:25:29.705Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Data Protection and the ‘Right to be Forgotten’ in Practice: A UK Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2017

Judith Townend
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We are in an uncertain and complex period for data protection and privacy in Europe, and especially so in the UK, following the result of the ‘Brexit’ referendum on 23 June 2016. Information law, and data protection in particular, are of increasing concern for those in the business of knowledge sharing and information dissemination: media organizations, academic institutions and libraries. The notion of the ‘right to be forgotten’ is particularly troublesome, as lawyers, archivists, historians and philosophers grapple with the theoretical and practical implications. This article presents a selection of recent European and British policy and legal developments, and discusses how they are changing social practice and citizens’ engagement with information rights.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Legal Information , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , March 2017 , pp. 28 - 33
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 As part of doctoral research at the Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism at City University London.

2 Townend, Judith. 2013. ‘Closed Data: Defamation and Privacy Disputes in England and Wales’. Journal of Media Law 5 (1): 31–44 CrossRefGoogle Scholar. doi:10.5235/17577632.5.1.31.

3 Townend, Judith. 2015. ‘Defamation, Privacy & the “Chill”: A Socio-Legal Study of the Relationship between Media Law and Journalistic Practice in England and Wales, 2009–13’. PhD thesis. City University London.

4 Hanna, Mark, and Dodd, Mike. 2016. McNae's Essential Law for Journalists. 23rd ed., 358Google Scholar.

5 O'Rorke, Jennifer Agate and Owen, . 2016. ‘Data Protection in Media Litigation’. Communications Law, no. 21 (July): 46–48 Google Scholar.

6 European Commission. 2015. ‘European Commission Press Release: Agreement on Commission's EU Data Protection Reform Will Boost Digital Single Market’. Europa.eu. December 15. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-6321_en.htm.

7 For a copy of the original statement see Baines, Jonathan. 2016. ‘An Adequate Response to Brexit?’ Informationrightsandwrongs. July 28. https://informationrightsandwrongs.com/2016/07/28/an-adequate-response-to-brexit/.

8 ICO. 2016. ‘Referendum Result Response’. July 1. https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/news-and-blogs/2016/07/referendum-result-response/.

9 Neville-Rolfe, Lucy. 2016. ‘The EU Data Protection Package: The UK Government's Perspective’. Gov.uk. July 4Google Scholar. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-eu-data-protection-package-the-uk-governments-perspective.

10 ICO. 2016. ‘Overview of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)’. July 7. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/overview-of-the-gdpr/.

11 Wood, Steve. 2016. ‘GDPR Still Relevant for the UK’. ICO Blog. July 7. https://iconewsblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/07/gdpr-still-relevant-for-the-uk/.

12 ‘Theresa May Will NOT Try to Take UK Out of European Convention on Human Rights’. 2016. RightsInfo. June 30Google Scholar. http://rightsinfo.org/breaking-theresa-may-will-not-try-leave-european-convention-human-rights/.

13 Elgot, Jessica. 2016. ‘UK Bill of Rights Will Not Be Scrapped, Says Liz Truss’. The Guardian, August 22Google Scholar, sec. Law. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/aug/22/uk-bill-of-rights-will-not-be-scrapped-says-liz-truss.

14 Google Spain SL, Google Inc.  v  Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD),  Mario Costeja González. 2016, Case C-131/12. CJEU Grand Chamber.

15 Google Spain SL,  Google Inc.  v  Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD),  Mario Costeja González. 2016, Case C-131/12. CJEU Grand Chamber. para 93.

16 Google Spain SL,  Google Inc.  v  Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD),  Mario Costeja González. 2016, Case C-131/12. CJEU Grand Chamber. para 85.

17 See, for example: Hume, Mick. 2015. ‘The EU Is Digging Orwell's “memory Holes” across the Internet’. Spiked Online. August 6. http://www.spiked-online.com/freespeechnow/fsn_article/the-eu-is-digging-orwells-memory-holes-across-the-internet#.V-04hjXdCUk.

18 Lee, Dave. 2014. ‘Google Ruling “Astonishing”, Says Wikipedia Founder Wales’. BBC News, May 14Google Scholar, sec. Technology. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27407017.

19 See, for example, Lee, Dave. 2014. ‘BBC to Publish “Right to Be Forgotten” Removals List’. BBC News, October 17Google Scholar, sec. Technology. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29658085.

20 Peston, Robert. 2014. ‘Why Has Google Cast Me into Oblivion?’ BBC News, July 2Google Scholar, sec. Business. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28130581.

21 Olivier G v Le Soir, 29 April 2016, C.15.0052.F.

22 Tomlinson, Hugh. 2016. ‘Case Law, Belgium: Olivier G v Le Soir. “Right to Be Forgotten” Requires Anonymization of Online Newspaper Archive’. Inform's Blog. July 19Google Scholar. https://inforrm.wordpress.com/2016/07/19/case-law-belgium-olivier-g-v-le-soir-right-to-be-forgotten-requires-anonymisation-of-online-newspaper-archive-hugh-tomlinson-qc/.

23 European Commission. 2015. ‘Special Eurobarometer 431: Data Protection’. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_431_en.pdf.

24 http://europe-v-facebook.org/EN/en.html.

25 Maximillian Schrems  v  Data Protection Commissioner. 2015, Case C-362/14. CJEU (Grand Chamber).

26 Europe-v-Facebook.org. 2016. ‘NSA Mass Surveillance: US Government Wants to Intervene in European Facebook Case’. http://www.europe-v-facebook.org/PR_MC-US.pdf.

27 Article 29 Working Party. 2016. ‘Article 29 Working Party Statement on the Decision of the European Commission on the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield’. European Commission. http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/article-29/press-material/press-release/art29_press_material/2016/20160726_wp29_wp_statement_eu_us_privacy_shield_en.pdf.