Separately, Yahoo Inc. disappointed investors, reporting a revenue increase of just 2 % over the same quarter last year and raising questions about the financial outlook for the
pioneering search engine operator.
That NAR, acting through the Center for REALTOR ® Technology, establish working relationships with
key search engine operators to make them aware of issues and concerns related to ethical operation of websites by REALTORS ® and MLS participants, and to enlist their assistance / cooperation in ensuring that consumers are treated honestly and fairly.
According to the Court, the fact that website publishers might indicate to
a search engine operator that specific data they publish should be wholly or partly excluded from search engine indexes does not alter this finding [39].
In particular, the Court considered whether an obligation flowed from Articles 12 (b) and 14 (1)(a) of the Directive for
a search engine operator to remove links to lawful material published on third party webpages.
The Court acknowledged that the processing conducted by
a search engine operator is distinct from that of a website publisher [35] and highlighted the «decisive role» played by search engines in disseminating data [36].
Following such an appraisal, a supervisory or judicial authority could order the removal of a link to a page by
a search engine operator without ordering the webpage publisher to remove the original [82].
In this regard, the Court highlighted that some publishers may be beyond the scope of EU legislation [84] and that
a search engine operator does not appear to benefit from the derogation to the Directive for processing carried out «solely for journalistic purposes» [85].
Consequently, the Court held that in so far as the conditions laid down in Article 12 (b) and 14 (1)(a) of the Directive are complied with,
a search engine operator must remove links to web pages which are returned when a person is searched for by name even whether those web pages are themselves lawful [88].
Moreover, it noted that the balancing exercise conducted under Articles 7 (f) and 14 (a) of the Directive differ depending on whether the processing is conducted by a publisher or
a search engine operator [86].
The Spanish court had asked whether the activities of a search engine constitute «processing of personal data» for the purposes of Article 2 (b) of the Directive and, if so, whether
a search engine operator is a «data controller» within the meaning of Article 2 (d) of the Directive.