Swedish Court Ruling on Journalism Exceptions EU GDPR

• The European Court of Justice has ruled on the compatibility of Swedish law with the GDPR in Case C-199/24.
• The judgment raises questions about the balance between freedom of expression and data protection rights in the context of new media.
• Lawyers advising clients on compliance with GDPR rules should be aware of the implications of this judgment, particularly in relation to new media exemptions.

The case raises questions about the balance between freedom of expression and other rights, particularly in the context of new media.

A Swedish individual, ND, sought to have details of their criminal offense removed from a database provided by Legal Newsdesk Sweden. The database allows individuals and businesses to search for those who have been subject to criminal prosecution before a Swedish court. Despite ND's request for erasure, the data was not deleted, leading ND to seek damages for failure to comply with data protection rules. Legal Newsdesk Sweden relied on a Swedish law exempting journalism from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and cited a certificate confirming this exemption.

The case raises questions about the balance between freedom of expression and other rights, particularly in the context of new media. The EU has struggled to harmonize data protection laws across its member states, with some countries taking a more permissive approach than others. In this case, Sweden's rules provide broad protections and exemptions from data protection rules for journalism, but it is unclear whether these are compatible with the GDPR. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered its judgment on this issue in Case C-199/24 on July 9, 2026.

The implications of this judgment will be far-reaching for lawyers advising clients on compliance with GDPR rules, particularly in relation to new media exemptions. The potential impact on data subject rights is also significant, as individuals may seek to have their personal data removed from online databases. This case highlights the ongoing tension between data protection and freedom of expression in the EU, and demonstrates the need for a more nuanced approach to regulating new media.

Lawyers should watch for the implications of this judgment on their clients' compliance with GDPR rules, particularly in relation to new media exemptions and the potential impact on data subject rights.

Source: Original reporting via Reconciling data protection and ‘new media’: The judgment in Legal Newsdesk Sweden (Case C-199/24)