The right to be forgotten is on its way to becoming a statutory right in European countries that are part of the EU, but it is not a principle that is recognized in the United States – yet. However, the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog it working to change that. Consumer Watchdog is urging the US Federal Trade Commission to investigate why Google has not extended this right to American internet users in the same way as it has done for European internet users.
The European Court of Justice ruled that Google must remove individual search results when they asked; however, the results must be irrelevant, outdated or inappropriate. Since the ruling in May of 2014 Google has removed more than 250,000 links.
What is the “right to be forgotten?”
In an American Bar Association article, professor Jasmine McNealy defines the right to be forgotten in this way, “”the “right to be forgotten,” (is) an amorphous privilege that would allow individuals more control over their personal information, particularly that information collected and connected with new technology.”
While the right to be forgotten is on its way to becoming law in the EU, it does not exist in the United States. If you don’t like what you find when you google yourself, right now there is little recourse for getting rid of those search results if you live in the U.S. Consumer Watchdog and lots of others in America wonder why that same courtesy cannot be extended here.
The debate about the right to be forgotten
In March 2015, National Public Radio (NPR) held a debate which asked the question, “Should the U.S. adopt the ‘Right to be forgotten’ Online?” in an event hosted by Intelligence Squared, a program that hosts Oxford-style debates live from New York City. Prior to the debate, 26 percent of the audience were opposed, and 35 percent were undecided. After the debate there were 35 percent in favor and 56 percent voted against making the argument against the winner of the debate.
Jonathan Zittrain, one of the debaters against the motion, argued that “The right to be forgotten online is a very bad solution to a real problem.” Debating for the motion, Paul Nemitz, of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Justice and Consumers, pointed out that “Individuals should have the right to control what others know about them.”
In this uber-connected world that we live in, data privacy and the ability to have some modicum of control over what others are able to discover about us online is vital, but that must be weighed against the freedom of expression that we cherish as Americans.
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