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Irini Katsirea
European Public Law
Volume 24, Issue 1 (2018) pp. 125 – 146
https://doi.org/10.54648/euro2018007
Abstract
Search engines ’ comprehensive digital memory has led to a desire for greater informational selfdetermination. The seminal judgment in Google Spain gave impetus to the development of data protection law as the preferred legal remedy for claimants who seek to erase their digital past. This article argues that the ‘ right to be forgotten ’ is a contourless and ill-conceived right, which can apply to a variety of markedly dissimilar cases, while paying insufficient regard to the fundamental rights of search engine users, website publishers and of the search engines themselves. Even though the decoupling of names from search results does not interfere with the original expression, it is intended to suppress this expression by drastically reducing its findability and hence its significance in the digital age. Search engines, with their intransparent modus operandi, are entrusted to unravel the Gordian knot between data protection and freedom of expression. But as the ‘ right to be forgotten ’ begins to cast its overly broad net over press archives, the Gordian knot risks tightening further.
Extract
The 2013 horsemeat scandal drew attention to the issue of food fraud in the European Union and highlighted the potential health and economic risks associated with such frauds. In the aftermath of the scandal, this article examines the effectiveness of the European Union ’ s legal framework in protecting against future frauds. It argues that this will only by achieved if this operates as a strong deterrent, which places potential fraudsters at significant risk of being apprehended. In the light of this, the article evaluates the measures in place to deter fraud in both food products manufactured within the European Union and in those imported from third countries. In doing so, it examines both the European Union ’ s legislative framework and the manner in which it has been implemented across Member States. Finally, the article concludes by examining Member State cooperation in addressing cross-border food fraud, such as the one perpetrated in the horsemeat scandal itself.
European Public Law