Facebook could be legally compelled to remove illegal content worldwide, according to a ruling by the CJEU


Facebook could be legally compelled to remove illegal content worldwide, according to a ruling by the CJEU


Contrary to Googles (aforementioned) guidance on limiting the territorial scope of the Right to Be Forgotten application, the Court of Justice of the European Union has recognized that European courts may order that Facebook and other storage providers suppress information or block access to them worldwide under certain conditions. 

The grounds of the decision consist in the fact that the EU law has no territorial restriction on the scope and effect of a global injunction, nor does it prevent a hosting provider from being obliged to remove comments with content identical to previously declared illegal information, and such injunctions may have worldwide effects. However, Facebook criticizes the decision, arguing that such a position poses a threat to freedom of expression, especially regarding the application of the understanding in authoritarian regimes.  

Learn more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/03/technology/facebook-europe.html

Decision in full in Portuguese: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PT/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:62018CJ0018&qid=1570473879992&from=EN.

Decision in full in English: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:62018CJ0018&qid=1570473879992&from=EN