Press Freedom vs. Right to be Forgotten: The Privacy Authority's New Frontiers

1. The facts

   According to press reports (specifically Prima Comunicazione, Huffington Post, and Il Giorno), between 2023 and 2024 numerous citizens filed complaints with the Privacy Authority regarding the persistent visibility on search engines of articles concerning older legal matters.

   The typical case involves individuals involved in preliminary investigations or first-instance proceedings later concluded with acquittal or dismissal more than 10 years ago, whose names remain associated with damaging headlines when searched on Google. The matter does not stem from a single court, but reflects a series of administrative rulings by the Authority and orders from the Civil Court of Cassation. Complainants argue that the failure to de-index the articles or update them with the favorable outcome creates a permanent digital pillory, no longer justified by any current public interest.

2. Applicable legal framework

   The legal framework rests on Art. 17 of the GDPR (Right to be forgotten), which provides for the erasure of data that are no longer necessary, while safeguarding freedom of information. Articles 136, 139 of the Italian Privacy Code regulate exemptions from consent for journalistic purposes, while Art. 99 governs processing for historical purposes.

   Of central importance is Art. 64-ter disp. att. c.p.p., introduced by the Cartabia Reform, which enables the data subject to request the entry of an annotation regarding the dismissal or acquittal ruling to obtain de-indexing. The violation of these principles may entail administrative fines and liability for compensation for damages pursuant to Art. 82 of the GDPR.

3. Case law trends

   Case law from the Supreme Court has clarified that the right to be forgotten does not necessarily entail removing the article from the publisher's archive, as the archive forms part of the collective memory. However, there is a clear duty to de-index: the publisher must implement technical measures so that the article does not appear among search engine results.

   The Privacy Authority has indicated that a period of approximately 10 years is generally appropriate for the right to be forgotten to outweigh the public interest, provided that the individual does not hold public office and the matter no longer retains exceptional social relevance.

5. Analysis drafted and verified with edit.legal

   To verify the provisions cited in this article, we used edit.legal. Test our legal AI on official sources and apply it to your own matters.

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8. What it teaches professionals

   1. Draft precise de-indexing requests, citing Art. 64-ter disp. att. c.p.p. where applicable;
   2. Verify through technical SEO checks that the web page is effectively excluded from search engine crawlers;
   3. Assess the liability of the publisher independently from that of the search engine operator;
   4. Monitor data retention periods, considering the 10-year period as an indicative guideline rather than an absolute rule.

References: Regolamento UE 2016/679 (GDPR), Art. 17, Art. 82D.Lgs. 196/2003 (Codice Privacy), Artt. 136, 137, 138, 139, 99Art. 64-ter disp. att. c.p.p. (Riforma Cartabia)

Editorial oversight: Avv. Federico Papa·ICAMUpdated 29 July 2026