The right to be forgotten refers to the right of individuals to request that online services remove certain content related to them.
Commentary:
- This may include the request to erase an individual’s personal data and may apply where a search engine returns information that is inaccurate or irrelevant, and the publication of such information is not in the greater public interest.
- The concept is rooted in the concern that a single event, memorialized online, may impose unduly punitive consequences for a person’s reputation, indefinitely, if there is no mechanism for reconsideration and removal.
- The right was first recognized in a 2014 ruling by the European Court of Justice, and was later codified as a “right to erasure” with the passing of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018. A right to erasure has since been recognized in other jurisdictions, including Russia and the Philippines.