DATA PROTECTION | The CJEU on the interpretation of the derogation pursuant to Article 85 of GDPR

On 9 July 2026, the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) delivered its judgment in Case C-199/24 (ND v Legal Newsdesk Sweden AB), clarifying the scope of exemptions and derogations under Article 85 of GDPR, which balances the right to data protection against the right to freedom of expression and information. The case concerned a Swedish company operating a commercial database of criminal proceedings, which refused to delete information relating to a data subject pursuant to Article 17 of GDPR, arguing that, as a media service provider benefiting from the exemption implemented under Article 85 of GDPR in Swedish law, its activity fell outside the scope of the GDPR.

The CJEU held that while Article 85(1) and (2) of GDPR requires Member States by law to reconcile the right to the protection of personal data with the freedom of expression and information, including for journalistic purposes and the purposes of academic, artistic or literary expression, Member States may not preclude the application of the GDPR in respect of the processing of data for other purposes. Nor can they deprive the person concerned of remedies guaranteed by the GDPR, by leaving them only the possibility of bringing criminal or civil proceedings for defamation. Instead, under Articles 77(1), 78(1) and (2), 79(1) and 82(1) of GDPR, that person must be able to exercise those remedies directly.

According to the CJEU, personal data are processed for “journalistic purposes” where the objective of that processing is to inform the public or to disclose opinions or ideas, where the content is prepared according to ethical rules or codes of conduct and has been edited or adapted, or at least is in line with an editorial policy, and the facts presented must have been verified. Consequently, the act of placing online, in return for payment, criminal convictions, does not appear, subject to verification by the national Court, to fulfil those conditions or be capable of being regarded as carried out for journalistic purposes.

Newsletter n. 120 – July 2026