CELEX: C2001/118/31
Language: en
Date: 2001-04-21 00:00:00
Title: Case C-101/01: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Göta Hovrätten by decision of that court of 23 February 2001 in the case of Bodil Lindqvist v Kammaråklagaren (Public Prosecutor), Jönköpning

21.4.2001              EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                         C 118/19
      particular Article 6(3) thereof, together with Council                   about fifteen people with links between the pages which
      Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 (4) on the                     make it possible to search by first name be considered to
      approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative                constitute ‘the processing otherwise than by automatic
      provisions of the Member States concerning misleading                    means of personal data which form part of a filing system
      advertising (OJ 1984 L 250, p. 17) (hereinafter ‘Directive               or are intended to form part of a filing system’ within the
      84/450’), in particular Articles 4 and 7 thereof, preclude               meaning of Article 3(1)?
      national legislation which, in connection with the market-
      ing of cosmetic products, makes it an offence to refer to
      medical opinions, by the use, in particular, of the                If the answer to either of those questions is yes, the Hovrätten
      description ‘clinically tested’ or ‘dermatologically tested’ ,     also asks the following questions:
      if erroneous ideas as to the characteristics and functioning
      of the cosmetic product could be engendered in the mind
                                                                         (3) Can the act of loading information of the type described
      of the consumer, as a result of a lack of information as to
                                                                               about work colleagues onto a private home page which
      the content and outcome of the opinion in question?
                                                                               is none the less accessible to anyone who knows its
                                                                               address be regarded as outside the scope of the directive
(2) Do Articles 28 and 30 EC, Directive 76/768, in particular                  on the ground that it is covered by one of the exceptions
      Article 6(3) thereof, and Directive 84/450, in particular                in Article 3(2)?
      Articles 4 and 7 thereof, preclude national legislation
      which permits information coming within the terms of
      Question 1 to be used only after prior authorisation by            (4) Is information on a home page stating that a named
      the competent Federal Minister?                                          colleague has injured her foot and is on half-time on
                                                                               medical grounds personal data concerning health which,
                                                                               according to Article 8(1), may not be processed?
( 1) OJ 1976 L 262, p. 169.
( 2) OJ 1988 L 382, p. 46.                                               (5) The directive prohibits the transfer of personal data to
( 3) OJ 1993 L 151, p. 32.                                                     third countries in certain cases. If a person in Sweden
( 4) OJ 1984 L 250 p. 17.                                                      uses a computer to load personal data onto a home page
                                                                               stored on a server in Sweden — with the result that
                                                                               personal data becomes accessible to people in third
                                                                               countries — does that constitute a transfer of data to a
                                                                               third country within the meaning of the directive? Would
                                                                               the answer be the same even if, as far as known, no one
                                                                               from the third country had in fact accessed the data or if
                                                                               the server in question is actually physically in a third
                                                                               country?
Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Göta Hovrätt-
en by decision of that court of 23 February 2001 in                      (6) Can the provisions of the directive, in a case such as the
the case of Bodil Lindqvist v Kammaråklagaren (Public                          above, be regarded as bringing about a restriction which
                    Prosecutor), Jönköpning                                    conflicts with the general principles of freedom of
                                                                               expression or other freedoms and rights, which are
                         (Case C-101/01)                                       applicable within the EU and are enshrined in inter alia
                                                                               Article 10 of the European Convention on the Protection
                                                                               of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms?
                         (2001/C 118/31)
                                                                         Finally, the Hovrätten asks the following question:
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
European Communities by a decision of the Göta Hovrätten
of 23 February 2001, which was received at the Court Registry            (7) Can a Member State, as regards the issues raised in the
on 1 March 2001, for a preliminary ruling in the case of Bodil                 above questions, provide more extensive protection for
Lindqvist v Kammaråklagaren, Jönköpning, on the following                      personal data or give it a wider scope than the directive,
questions:                                                                     even if none of the circumstances described in Article 13
                                                                               exists?
(1) Is the mention of a person — by name or with name and
      telephone number — on an Internet home page an action
      which falls within the scope of the directive? (1) Does it
                                                                         (1) Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
      constitute ‘the processing of personal data wholly or
                                                                             on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of
      partly by automatic means’ to list on a self-made Internet             personal data and on the free movement of such data (OJ 1995
      home page a number of persons with comments and                        L 281, p. 31).
      statements about their jobs and hobbies etc?
(2) If the answer to the first question is no, can the act of
      setting up on an Internet home page separate pages for