Search engines like Google must remove links to websites that contain verifiably incorrect information.
Those affected do not first have to contact the person who put the information online, but can hold Google accountable straight away.
The ECJ decided on Thursday in Luxembourg.
(Case C-460/20)
It is not the first judgment of the ECJ in such cases.
In 2014, the Luxembourg judges introduced a “right to be forgotten” on the internet in a landmark ruling.
This allows people to limit what appears when their names are searched for on the Internet.
In 2019, however, the Court of Justice also ruled that this right does not apply to the global Internet, but only in the EU - for example for google.de, but not for google.com.
The background to the current lawsuit is a case before the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, in which a couple from the financial services industry felt they had been discredited by a US website.
The company behind this site is in turn accused of launching targeted negative reports in order to later blackmail those affected.
Google had refused to remove the links to the articles.
One cannot judge whether there is any truth to the allegations.
The ECJ did not follow this.
The right to the protection of personal data must be seen with regard to its social functions and weighed against other fundamental rights.
The General Data Protection Regulation therefore expressly provides that there is no right to erasure if the data is necessary for people to exercise their right to free information.
However, the right to freedom of expression and information cannot be taken into account if the content is incorrect.
So if a person can prove that a search query leads to a page with obviously incorrect information, the search engine must delete the corresponding link.
It does not require a judicial decision, it said.
Those affected need only provide such evidence as "may reasonably be required".
However, the search engine does not have to actively participate in the search for evidence.
The burden of proof lies with those affected.
With regard to thumbnails, which are also part of the lawsuit, the ECJ made it clear that the display of photos can represent a particularly strong encroachment on the right to the protection of private life and personal data.
Google must therefore check whether the so-called thumbnails are necessary so that Internet users can exercise their right to free information.
Here, however, the ECJ requires a differentiated perspective: A distinction must be made between photos that are embedded in an article in their original context and illustrate the wrong content and photos that are only displayed in the preview list out of context.
According to the ECJ, the information value of the preview images must be taken into account regardless of the context.
The BGH must now decide on the case, taking into account the case law of the ECJ.
A Google spokesman told the dpa: "Since 2014 we have been working to implement the right to be forgotten in Europe and to find a reasonable balance between people's rights to access information and privacy." We welcome the decision and will now be the judgement check.