The right to erasure

cdigital | 23 January 2025

This right was recently reinforced by the Law to allow the data subject to request from the data controller, in very specific cases, that his or her personal data be erased, whether public or not.

The exercise of this right is limited to the following cases:

where the data subject withdraws the consent on which the processing is based and there is no other legal ground for the processing;
where the data subject objects for reasons relating to his or particular situation to the processing of his or her data based on public interest or legitimate interest, and there is no overriding legitimate reason for the processing, or where he or she objects to the processing of his or her data for commercial prospecting purposes;
where the personal data are no longer necessary regarding the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed;
where the personal data have been unlawfully processed;
where the data have been collected concerning a direct offer of information society services;
to comply with a legal obligation.

However, this right to erasure does not apply when the processing is necessary:

- to comply with a legal obligation that requires the processing of these data;
- to carry out a task in the general interest by a legal entity governed by private law which has been entrusted with such a task or which holds a public service concession;
- to carry out a task in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;
- for archiving purposes in the public interest, for scientific or historical research purposes, or for statistical purposes, insofar as the exercise of this right is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of the purposes of the processing;
- for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims;
- to exercise the right of freedom of public expression and information.