The CJEU limits freedom of expression under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): C-199/24 Legal Newsdesk Sweden

Legal Newsdesk concerned a paid search service providing criminal information on individuals. Disclosure was not oriented towards a collective public and so clearly fell outside of journalism. The CJEU further held that journalistic disclosure must be ‘in compliance with the rules and codes of conduct of the profession of journalist’ and ‘factual allegations’ must be ‘verified so as to be sufficiently reliable’. Even journalism was not exempt from GDPR remedies and liability and reference to freedom of expression did not permit derogations ‘on the basis of’ Article 85 beyond special expression. Rights reconciliation mandates a narrow interpretation of several of these holdings.