Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited – Court Ruling (Romania, 2025)
General GDPR enforcement action
This case relates to broader data protection obligations, not specifically to cookie or consent banner compliance. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
A Romanian judge asked Microsoft to remove links about him from Bing because he claimed they were defamatory. The court agreed that the articles harmed his reputation but did not order the removal of the links. This case highlights the balance between freedom of expression and protecting individual reputations online.
What happened
A judge requested Microsoft to block links about him from Bing due to alleged defamation.
Who was affected
The individual affected was a judge whose reputation was impacted by articles on a specific website.
What the authority found
The court found that the articles were defamatory and affected the judge's professional reputation.
Why this matters
This ruling emphasizes the importance of managing online content that can harm a person's reputation. Companies should be aware of the potential legal implications of hosting or linking to such content.
GDPR Articles Cited
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National Law Articles
An individual working as a judge (the data subject) sued Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited and its Romanian establishments (the controllers) and requested in court the removal or blocking from the search engine Bing (the search engine) of all links and URL addresses containing content relating to him from the web page www.luju.ro in accordance with Article 17 GDPR, Article 18 GDPR, Article 21 GDPR and Article 22 GDPR. The data subject alleged that the content was defamatory. Furthermore, the data subject requested an interdiction for the search engine to publish or transmit any content from the above-mentioned web page relating to the data subject and the awarding of RON 199,000 (approximately €39,000) in immaterial damages. In addition, the data subject asked for the logic behind the search engine algorithm to be communicated to him, specifically related to the content from the website luju.ro involving the data subject and how it is prioritised in the search results. Moreover, the data subject requested the communication of the records of processing activities in relation to him carried out by the controllers under Article 30 GDPR, along with the evaluation of the impact on his rights in accordance with Article 35 GDPR. Previously, the data subject obtained in court an order for the elimination and blocking from the search engine Google of all links leading to published articles on him on the website luju.ro. The removal of links from the search engine The court referred to a previous judgement which held that several articles published on the website luju.ro about the data subject have an impact on his honour and dignity. Subsequently, the court declared that the articles identified by the data subject in the present lawsuit have a defamatory character, affecting in particular his professional reputation as a judge. However, the court held that the reference to the data subject’s profession does not exclude a violation of his private life protected un
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited in RO
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited - Romania (2025). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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