European Union Executive Arm Opposes France on Global ‘Right to be Forgotten’

The European Union’s executive arm joined Google and a group of free-speech advocates to oppose expanding the bloc’s “right to be forgotten” beyond European borders. In arguments before the EU’s top court, the executive arm, as well as countries including Ireland and Greece, argued that a global application of the EU right would stretch the EU’s privacy laws beyond their intended scope—echoing at least some of Google’s arguments. “We don’t see extraterritoriality” in EU privacy law, said Antoine Buchet, a lawyer for the bloc’s executive arm, during questioning by EU judges. “It’s intellectually difficult to enter into that logic and give a universal effect to removals.” The declaration before the EU’s top court, known as the Court of Justice, came as part of Google’s appeal of a 2015 order from France’s privacy regulator, CNIL, to extend the EU’s “right to be forgotten” to all of its websites, no matter where they are accessed. A nonbinding opinion in the case from one of the court’s advocate generals is expected on December 11. A decision could come in the months that follow.