Developing Search Engine Law: It Is Not Just about the Right to Be Forgotten

Abstract

The conflicting interests in the search engine context raise specific legal questions regarding the protection of personality rights on the Internet, as evidenced by the CJEU in Google Spain. This decision confirms the Court’s reliance on the data protection mechanisms and legal structures to guarantee a complete and effective protection of data subjects in the European Union. The clear endorsement of the European data protection’s long-arm policy and, particularly, the strict classification of search engines as controllers of third party data, has not satisfied the expectations of those who advocate for a debate about whether data protection legal structures alone can frame the legal issues raised by third party data processing carried out by search engines.