Jurisdiction-specific data protection, defamation law, and removal process information for France. Last reviewed 2025.
Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) is the supervisory authority for data protection in France. Individuals can file erasure and data-related complaints directly with this authority.
GDPR (EU 2016/679) and the French Data Protection Act (Loi Informatique et Libertés, amended 2018)
Article 17 GDPR gives individuals in France a codified right to request erasure of personal data. The CNIL actively enforces this right and has issued fines exceeding â¬300 million collectively since GDPR came into force.
Defamation in France is governed by the Law on Freedom of the Press 1881 (Loi du 29 juillet 1881). Online defamation carries criminal penalties. The limitation period for online defamation is only three months under Article 65 â much shorter than in most countries.
Content removal requests to Google France are directed to Google's EU legal team. The CNIL's online complaint portal accepts reports of illegal content. French courts can issue référé orders requiring immediate takedown of harmful content.
Common sources in France requiring removal include Le Figaro, Le Monde, L'Express, BFM TV, 20minutes.fr, and regional publications such as Sud Ouest, La Voix du Nord, and Paris Match.
France's short three-month defamation limitation period means cases must be pursued quickly. For content past this window, de-indexing from Google and direct platform removal remain the most effective routes.
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