Usuwanie danych osobowych z archiwów prasowych – glosa do wyroku Naczelnego Sądu Administracyjnego z dnia 9 lutego 2023 r., III OSK 6781/21
Removal of personal data from newspaper archives – Commentary to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of February 9, 2023, III OSK 6781/21

Summary/Abstract: This text undertakes an analysis and commentary on the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 9 February 2023, in which the Court examined the permissibility of removing personal data from newspaper archives and the realization of the right to be forgotten about the texts in them. The purpose was to critically analyze the consequences of adopting the interpretation of newspaper archives as a term of the press presented by the Court and reflect on the application of the right to be forgotten to them. The primary method used in the text involves interpretation of the provisions that are the basis of the ruling and a study of judicial decisions in similar cases. A review of relevant literature is also used. The self-examination, particularly the analysis of the European rulings, has led to critical conclusions. The in abstracto denial of press character to newspaper archives, justified by the Court by the lack of “timeliness” of the materials placed there, contradicts the European jurisprudence, which formulates more complex criteria for qualifying a medium to the concept of the press. The permissibility of interference with newspaper archives requires individual examination in casu, and should not be dictated solely by the evaluative notion of the “timeliness” of the material. The interpretation presented in the judgment in question may lead to a consequence that is difficult to implement in practice – having to analyse newspaper archives content in terms of current relevance of specific information contained therein. In turn, denying them the nature of press makes it necessary to apply the GDPR to its full extent, i.e., without the exemption provided for in the so-called press clause. This, in turn, may negatively affect the willingness of publishers to maintain such archives and have a chilling effect, significantly impacting the realization of press freedom and access to information.

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