CJEU case C-492/23 Russmedia – CJEU Judgment (Romania, 2025)

Russmedia Digital (Russmedia), a Romanian company, is the owner of the online marketplace www.publi24.ro on which ads for - inter alia - goods or services from Romania can be published, either free of charge or for a fee. An unidentified person published an ad on that online marketplace, the content of which was disparaging and offensive towards the data subject, stating that it offered sexual services (‘the ad’). That ad contained photographs originating from the data subject's social network account but used for the ad without the data subject's consent. The identity of the person posting that ad was not verified prior to publication. When contacted by the data subject, the controller removed the ad from its online marketplace less than an hour later. However, the same ad has been placed online, indicating the the original source as Russmedia, by other websites with advertising content, where it can still be accessed. = Arguing that the ad at issue infringed her rights, the data subject brought an action against Russmedia. The Court of First Instance upheld that action and ordered Russmedia, on the basis of Romanian law to pay the data subject non-material damage caused to her by the infringement of her right of personal portrayal and right to honour and reputation, the breach of her right to privacy, and the improper processing of her personal data. That court took the view that the ad at issue constituted a failure by Russmedia to meet the obligations imposed on it by the GDPR. However, a specialised court upheld Russmedia’s ensuing appeal, ruling that the action brought by the data subject was unfounded because Russmedia was not the author of the ad at issue. The court held that Russmedia was merely providing a service for storing ads, without being actively involved ‘in the content’ of those ads. That court therefore found that Russmedia was exempted from liability by Romanian law for the damage claimed. = The data subject brought an appeal against that d