Internet and search engines

28/ 02/ 2023

Author: Oleksiy Hrachov, attorney at Dynasty Law & Investment Internet sites are information and communication tools that are significantly different from print media, especially in their ability to store and transmit huge amounts of information. The risk of harm to content and communications on the Internet published or carried out for the exercise of individual rights and freedoms is definitely higher than that created by the press, especially due to the possibility of unhindered access to search engines. These challenges in the field of data protection have attracted the attention of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the Court). In particular, if personal data are owned by mass media, Internet users can easily find them using search engines. Due to the nature of the activity underlying the publication of the information, the obligations of the search engines to the person who is the subject of the information may differ from the obligations of the organization that first carried out the publication, in particular, regarding compensation for damages or deletion of data. Therefore, the Court established that in cases related to the deletion of personal data, balancing the interests of non-interference in the private life of the subject of the information and freedom of the press may lead to different results depending on whether the request for the deletion of personal data concerned the original publisher of the information. After all, its activity is based on the principle of freedom of expression. Instead, in search engines, the main interest is not the publication of the primary publication of information about the relevant person, but facilitating the identification of any available information about him and the creation of a corresponding profile. At the same time, the Court recognized that the role of national judicial authorities is not to rewrite history by removing from the public space all traces of publications, and therefore the issue of protecting the data contained in them must be decided on a case-by-case basis from specific circumstances. This is precisely why the lawyers of Dynasty Law & Investment exist, who will help you understand the intricacies of the Courts practice and protect the published data in the most effective way.

Author: Oleksiy Hrachov, attorney at Dynasty Law & Investment

Internet sites are information and communication tools that are significantly different from print media, especially in their ability to store and transmit huge amounts of information.

The risk of harm to content and communications on the Internet published or carried out for the exercise of individual rights and freedoms is definitely higher than that created by the press, especially due to the possibility of unhindered access to search engines. These challenges in the field of data protection have attracted the attention of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the “Court”).

In particular, if personal data are owned by mass media, Internet users can easily find them using search engines. Due to the nature of the activity underlying the publication of the information, the obligations of the search engines to the person who is the subject of the information may differ from the obligations of the organization that first carried out the publication, in particular, regarding compensation for damages or deletion of data.

Therefore, the Court established that in cases related to the deletion of personal data, balancing the interests of non-interference in the private life of the subject of the information and freedom of the press may lead to different results depending on whether the request for the deletion of personal data concerned the original publisher of the information. After all, its activity is based on the principle of freedom of expression. Instead, in search engines, the main interest is not the publication of the primary publication of information about the relevant person, but facilitating the identification of any available information about him and the creation of a corresponding profile.

At the same time, the Court recognized that the role of national judicial authorities is not to “rewrite history” by removing from the public space all traces of publications, and therefore the issue of protecting the data contained in them must be decided on a case-by-case basis from specific circumstances.

This is precisely why the lawyers of Dynasty Law & Investment exist, who will help you understand the intricacies of the Court’s practice and protect the published data in the most effective way.