Robert Szustkowski – the author of the initiative to extend the ‘Right to be Forgotten’ to the media – is grateful to the European Commission for its recommendations and will continue his fight for personal data protection in the EU
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
A recent initiative to extend the EU “right to be forgotten” directive to media outlets has been subject to EU Commission analyses for the last several weeks. Following consultations, the Data Protection Unit at the EU Directorate-General for Justice & Consumers, on behalf of Executive Vice-President Jourova and Commissioner Reynders, provided a detailed response to it.
Robert Szustkowski’s proposal submitted to the European Commission on June 26th, 2024, suggests that individuals should have the right to erase digital references based on false, undocumented, or irrelevant information, particularly in cases of defamatory media content. He also recommends imposing obligations and liabilities on media for inaccuracies and defamation and calls for standardized guidelines and reporting mechanisms.
EU Head of Data Protection Unit response clarifies that the GDPR already includes provisions related to personal data protection, which apply to journalists or, more generally, media as well. Regarding the “right to be forgotten”, to which Szustkowski specifically refers in his letter, Article 17 GDPR provides data subjects with the right to obtain from the data controller the erasure of their personal data. Where personal data has been made public, the data controller is obliged to take steps to inform controllers processing those personal data that the data subject has requested the erasure of any links to, or a copy or a replication of those data.
In this context, according to the EU Commission, the right to the protection of personal data is not an absolute right. Regarding the right to erasure, Article 17(2) of GDPR states that the data controller does not have the obligation to erase an individual’s personal data if the processing is necessary for exercising the right to freedom of expression and information. However, Member States have an obligation under Article 85 GDPR to reconcile the rules governing the right to freedom of expression, including journalistic expression, with the right to data protection.
Continuing the above, the supervision and enforcement of data protection legislation is a responsibility of national authorities. In particular the data protection supervisory authorities and courts, without prejudice to the competencies of the European Commission as the guardian of the Treaties. It is for national authorities to examine and decide on individual cases of alleged violations of the GDPR and national legislation implementing it, as well as on possible claims for compensation.
We are very happy to have a thoughtful dialogue with EU authorities. The recommendations provided in a letter from EU Directorate-General for Justice & Consumers will be guidelines to us for further open communication with Poland’s Personal Data Protection Office (UODO) and – we believe – it would represent a significant step toward ensuring that news organizations in Poland handle personal data with the responsibility it requires – concluded Robert Szustkowski.
What next for Robert Szustkowski’s initiative?
The author of the initiative plans to continue his efforts to bring about legislative changes in Poland and the EU. Among other things, he proposes introducing a requirement for publishing houses to create an institution of the Readers’ Rights Ombudsman, to whom people harmed by the media could report. This would facilitate the out-of-court amicable resolution of conflicts between freedom of speech and the protection of personal data. Another proposal is to create a uniform form for reporting violations of personal rights throughout the European Union.
According to Robert Szustkowski’s vision, publishers should have transparent rules regarding the verification of information before publication. This could prevent many personal tragedies related to the loss of reputation due to defamatory and unfair media reports. Szustkowski emphasizes that information about personal data violations should be available to the public. This applies in particular to won court cases. According to the author of the initiative, society should have the right to access such information. It also intends to focus on popularizing existing legal solutions, which few people still know about.
Changes are necessary. Let’s give EU citizens the tools to defend their own reputation, and the media will regain trust and reliability – says Szustkowski. His initiative aims not only to protect individuals, but also to combat disinformation in the whole European Union.
The full text of the initiative: https://szustkowski.ch/en/