CNIL Clarifies Right to Erasure for Personal Data in Online Press Articles

What CNIL States

The French data protection authority (CNIL) has addressed a recurring question: can an individual request that a press organization delete personal data about them appearing in an article published online? According to CNIL, the answer is yes — any data subject has the right to ask a press organization to erase personal data concerning them found in an online article.

Not an Absolute Right

CNIL is explicit that this erasure right is not unconditional. Per the excerpt, "a balance between the interests in presence must be made" — meaning any such request must be weighed against other interests at stake, rather than automatically granted. The source does not specify what those competing interests are or how the balancing test is conducted, only that a balancing exercise is required.

What This Means

For organizations operating in the press and media space, this confirms that erasure requests concerning personal data in published articles cannot simply be refused outright, nor can they be granted automatically. Each request should be assessed individually, with a documented balancing of the data subject's interest in erasure against other relevant interests. Privacy and compliance teams supporting media entities should ensure there is a clear, defensible process for receiving, evaluating, and responding to such requests, given that CNIL treats this as a qualified right rather than an absolute one. Organizations should note that the excerpt does not detail the specific criteria for this balancing test, so further guidance or case-specific analysis may be needed to apply it in practice.