Right to freedom of information versus protection of the right to privacy in information society. The new law on the protection of personal data and the right to be forgotten

Abstract

The limits between the right to information and the right to privacy have been established by jurisprudence and on the whole they had not given rise to major concerns until now. The emergence of information technology, however, has changed the setting and this new reality generates new situations of conflict with people’s right to honor and to privacy, which are protected by Article 18.1 of the Spanish Constitution, as well as with their right to protection of personal data under Article 18.1 and their right to freedom of information under Article 20.1, which call for a new assessment.

KEYWORDS: freedom of expression, freedom of information, right to privacy, protection of personal data, right of rectification, right to be forgotten.