Recent Developments In Internet Law

Over the last year there has been an increasing focus by the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") and courts in the UK on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the "Charter") and especially the fundamental right to privacy.

The right to privacy is now overshadowing conflicting rights such as the freedom of expression and freedom to conduct a business and, in some instances, national data protection legislation. 

1. The 'right to be forgotten' - Google Spain SL v AEPD¹

In May 2014, the CJEU ruled that the operation of the Google search engine involves "the processing of personal data" within the meaning of the Data Protection Directive ("DPD") and Google Inc. is the controller of such processing.