Google Clash Over Global Right to Be Forgotten Returns to Court

Google’s battle against French proponents of a worldwide “right to be forgotten” enters a decisive phase at the European Union’s top court on Jan. 10, in a case that highlights the growing tensions between privacy, freedom of speech and state censorship.

Ahead of a ruling later this year, an adviser at the EU Court of Justice will on Jan. 10 deliver an opinion on whether the world’s most-used search engine can limit the geographical scope of the privacy right to EU-based searches.

Google has been fighting efforts led by France’s privacy watchdog to globalize the right to be ...