The Right to Be Forgotten

With the rise of the digital space, the issue of personal privacy has been a concern for most internet users. People have been oblivious to some fundamental aspects of how the internet works for years. For instance, most people never knew about the existence of cloud servers and that the data posted on the internet will always remain there. Therefore, the concern to control such privacy issues prompted the rise of “the right to be forgotten.” This right gives internet users the right to demand technology companies involved to delete the information one wants to remain confidential.

The right to be forgotten is controversial on some levels. First and foremost, most technology companies create an illusion that a user can post and delete data at their will. If this were the actual case, then there would be no politics surrounding the issue whether this right needs to be passed or not.  Therefore, deleting information from one’s user profile does not suffice. Take a scenario where a teenager posts some erotic photos on the internet because of peer pressure. If they regret their action and need the post deleted totally, their wish should be respected. The right to privacy seems not to help in such an instance. Therefore, the right to be forgotten would be a useful tool to be utilized to protect people’s digital privacy. 

However, some issues have made this right significantly challenging to accept. Some critics of the right to be forgotten claim that if people can order for their information to be deleted if they feel uncomfortable, it will infringe the right to free speech. People in careers such as journalism and art may have no right to post things if the characters of the story feel uncomfortable about the data published. A journalist by the name John Hendel argued that it is not an infringement if the complainant willingly gave out the information in context. However, European law passed claims that internet service providers are obliged to delete any data about a person that is anywhere on the internet. 

The European regulation, which proposed the right to be forgotten, has quite an extensive definition. The application process will need more refinement as time passes to ensure it doesn’t infringe on other people’s freedom of expression.