The Google Spain case : Part of a harmful trend of jurisdictional overreach

Few legal decisions have gained greater academic and public scrutiny than has the Google Spain case and the facts of this so-called ‘right to be forgotten’ case are widely known. As could be expected, the CJEU’s decision of 2014 is legally technical and addresses a range of topics. Here, I will focus on those aspects of the judgment, and its (suggested) implementation, that has to do with jurisdiction. Those matters must be viewed in their proper context. To that end, this article places the discussion in the context of: (1) the ongoing European data privacy reform, (2) the considerable development of data privacy laws around the globe and (3) the general trend of jurisdictional overreach. Having done so, a Model Code Determining the Geographical Scope of Delisting Under the Right To Be Forgotten is presented and discussed.