The Right To Be Forgotten
A couple of years ago, the European Union Court of Justice said that citizens have the right to ask that links be removed if they contain information that is "inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant." (They determined this following a court case where a Spanish man won the right to have negative information about him removed from Google search results. SEE LINK BELOW) There are efforts to make this the law outside of Europe, including in the U.S.
We've talked about the fact that information you post online is essentially permanent. Should it be, in all cases? Should someone have the right to have old, irrelevant information expunged from the Web?
Read this article, and also the arguments that follow it, ("The Arguments"), to help you form your opinion.
Further reading:

I think that if there is something out there on the internet of someone and they don't want it to be out there they should have the ability to erase it. People should especially be able to delete something if it could potentially ruin their life. Such as a inappropriate picture that they didn't want to get out, or maybe just something embarrassing about them.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely, you don't want a simple post or picture to ruin your life and you should have the choice to remove it if you want to.
DeleteI agree, if there is something out there of someone and that person doesn't want it out there, they should have the right to delete it.
DeleteI agree about the picture scenario, but I think if a person has made a huge mistake, that could effect their working ability, it should be known to possible employers.
DeleteAgreed, people can leak unwanted pictures and you should have the ability to delete them.
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ReplyDeleteMaybe, some information should stay on the internet while others shouldn't. One example of what should stay on the internet is if a person has a criminal record, yes they may have changed but who knows if their going to do it again. While other stuff such as getting your house repossessed or getting divorced should stay off the internet. So I guess i'm on the maybe side, it really depends on the information.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you put in your statement.
Deletei agree with you strongly
Deleteyes i agree people dont need to be all in your business
DeleteTrue. Only some things should be forgotten.
DeleteI agree with you too. You never know if the information you delete would still be needed just in case if that person tends to go back to doing horrible crimes.
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ReplyDeleteI think you should be able to delete your past, you never know what things people can find out about you online. Say your going for a job interview and they look up your name and say you were sent to jail for a 48 hours for a drunk driving and you got caught. Now possibly you can't get the job because even though the drunk driving was a year ago they still think you could end up doing it again. Google should have every ones permission to put there name online and stuff that has happened to them.It could be embarrassing and maybe some people just want things in their life to be private.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying and you should be able to delete the past.
DeleteI agree you should be able to delete the private things and anything you want
DeleteI agree and disagree with what your saying, you give very valid points.
DeleteThis makes sense, if you dint want people to see stuff they should delete it because some stuff is not okay to bee seen
DeleteI agree with you. It would be quite embarrassing to have that kind of information online. You should be able to delete that if you wanted.
DeletePeople should be able to get rid of the posts about their pasts from google. Do I think it should turn into a won lawsuit for millions of dollars? No, but it should be erasable. It should be stopped before getting to a lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteThe whole lawsuit thing is kind of ridiculous so yes, your statement is absolutely true.
DeleteTrue it would take lots of time to make that happen.
DeleteIf there was information posted about you on the internet that you don't want on the internet, you should have the right to get it removed. Information on the internet could change your life, and make you look like someone you're not.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, I mean just look at Adolf Hitler, sure he hated jews and killed millions; but he did try to cure cancer.
DeleteI agree, if the information is ruining your reputation, and, for the most part, is irrelevant, you should be able to remove it.
DeleteVery true. People spreading rumors on the internet now-a-days can severely impact someones life.
DeleteAmen Andy I agree with you 100%
DeleteI agree that you should be able to delete information that could ruin your life
DeleteI personally I think there should be a delete button because if there is some kind of information about you on the internet and it isn't relevant you should be able to delete it. If you got caught for drunk driving then you should be able to delete that because if you go to apply for a job they company might not want to hire you because your past could set a bad example for them.
ReplyDeletei agree with you, there should be a delete button you should be able to control whats out there about you
DeleteI agree with you people should have a choice to delete the wrong things people say about them
DeleteNo my information should be private like if i do something on accident i don't need people thinking I'm a bad person or judging me. It should be your choice if you want that information out there for the world to see or not.
ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree with what you are saying, but what if you have a criminal record and are deemed unsafe, and you apply to a job at a preschool. They will most likely search you up and then what happens, they will never know about the criminal record.
DeleteI think you should be able to have information about you permanently deleted from the internet, but I also don't think its really that possible. Once you post something it can easily be screen-shotted, shared, or shown to other people, and that can keep going even if you delete it off your page. Once something is out on the internet it is out there for everyone to see and its not going to be that easy to erase. That's why you should think before you post something because if you regret it later you might not be able to undo it once people see it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this because if its something you don't want on there, they shouldn't be able to keep it on there.
DeleteThe E.U. court ruling states that if information is "inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant, or excessive", then the person may attempt to get the information removed from the search engine. I think people should be able to get the information removed if and only if the information fits the Court's definition (quoted above). On one hand a person should have a right to have any information that is slanderous removed from the internet, but on the other hand, and actions that one takes in the judicial system is recorded and posted online for everyone to see.
ReplyDeleteI agree that they should only be able to remove things if it follows the courts ruling, and should be regulated by the courts.
DeleteI agree, if you want to remove something from the internet, there should be a ruling in the court saying it's something that should be removed.
DeleteI agree, people should have the right to remove information, but is also recorded and can cause more attention.
DeleteI believe people have the right to have things erased if it could potentially ruin their reputation. Lots of people turn their life around after years of bad decisions and I don't think it's right that they have to be repeatedly reminded of their past if they are trying to forget it.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the internet has done a good job of ruining innocent peoples reputations and people should be able to forget about things that are now irrelevant to them.
DeleteI agree! This is a perfect example of why we should have more privilege!
DeleteI agree! The internet can definitely ruin someones reputation if there something out there that shouldn't be.
DeleteI believe that if you have information on the internet about yourself you should be able to delete it if you want but some info could be found from different sites that could be used to help like when you check into a hospital the information could easily be leaked
ReplyDeleteThat makes absolutely no sense, Hospital records can't be accessed other wise you will law suit on your butt.
DeleteHe's right you cant access hospital records, maybe you'll be able to get the records if their your own or you have a warrant for them, but getting rid of them is really probably not possible.
DeleteI agree with Cody
DeleteI think should have the right to be forgotten, if they so choose, because a multiple of reasons, the information could be wrong, the information could be out of date, or you just don't want to be remembered for something bad.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything, except the remembering part, because if it isnt hurting your reputation i think it is fine to keep it there.
Deletei agree with Brady
DeleteI think that they should have the right to be forgotten, because what if there is something that was so far in the past that it is extremely irrelevant, and was still hurting your reputation even though it is not relevant anymore.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but if you did something in the past you would never be in that situation.
DeleteI believe you should be able to delete things from your past. I dont feel that something like this should be on google when you look up that name. People should have rights to delete something like that.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, your past shouldn't come up every time someone googles your name.
DeleteI agree with what you said.
DeleteI think you should be able to have information about you permanently deleted from the internet for good, but I also don't think it is really that possible. Once you post something it can easily be screen-shotted, shared, photo shopped, or ever shown to other people, and that can keep going even if you delete it off your page. Once something is out on the internet it is out there for everyone to see and its not going to be that easy to erase. That's why you should think before you post something because if you regret it later you might not be able to undo it once people see it.
ReplyDeleteI think they should actually have a delete button. It might save your life from being ruined. Like if you accidentally put something online that you did not want because it might of been an inappropriate picture or something other than that. So a delete button would be a great thing to have.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this could be a good idea for professionals, etc., but at the same time having that ability could lead to hackers deleting usefully and important things on the internet, making the ability easily abused.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said.
DeleteI agree, but how could you limit it to only professionals? It could make people feel like they're left out.
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ReplyDeleteI think people should be able to delete stuff that they don't want on the internet because if its in the past then it shouldn't matter anymore. If people are trying to move on from the past and then they go on the internet and thats all they see it would make it harder to move on. Information on the internet should be able to be deleted if it could ruin your reputation/life.
ReplyDeleteI think that people should be able to delete things that they have posted in the past
ReplyDeleteAmen Bryce, you should be able.
DeleteI agree 200% with you
DeleteYes, I think people should have a right to be able to delete unwanted information from the internet. It could ruin their reputation and prevent them from a getting a job. People make mistakes and bad decisions all time, they don't need past information haunting them.
ReplyDeleteI think some mistakes are worthy of ruining someone's chances of getting a job, for example, criminal history. Employers look for certain aspects when selecting job candidates. You wouldn't want a sex offender as a teacher would you? Or, a pervious embezzler running your organization? These are all possible instances where internet history would come into play while getting a job.
DeleteYes, I think people should be able to delete stuff on the internet. it can ruin a lot of peoples lives if people saw it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because it could make people not get hired and they shouldn't have to live with their mistakes forever.
DeleteI agree people should know about things you do unless its a crime
DeleteI agree 110% with you it can help teens
DeleteI think that when things go on the internet with out your permission its not fair to the person they are posting about, some things can't be erased wether its a bad picture or just something you don't want on there. So yes i think you should be able to get the things deleted that you want.
ReplyDeleteI agree, that things posted about you without permission should be deleted but your criminal record should always be on the internet so employers and people hiring you can see your past if you have any records.
DeleteI think people should be able to have there history erased of anything but murrder because that is more serous.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but I think their whole criminal record should stay on the internet not just anything but murder. But you make a good point about how if you have murdered someone it should still be on the internet for people to see so they know you are a criminal.
DeleteI agree with you but anything can happen.
DeleteI agree with you that criminal records should stay on the internet because those are things people need to know
DeleteI think people should have the right to erase false posts/pictures, etc. of them or about them if it is not true, it can ruin a lot of things in your life and maybe prevent you from being hired. I also think that if you have a criminal record for doing something illegal it should stay on the internet because that person could be a potential threat to people and they have the right to know that the person has a record, regardless if they are a good person now or not. So basically, you should be allowed to delete things on the internet that are not true about you to make sure your life is not going to get ruined.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because people shouldn't have to live with their mistakes their whole life. And I agree with the criminal records if you have done something bad it should stay so people are aware.
DeleteI agree too, people make mistakes but it isn't our problem or our decision to have a person be stuck with what the've done and they should be able to erase the best they can for what they have done
DeleteI think it matters what exactly you want to delete. There is certain things people should know about you and things people shouldn't know.
ReplyDeleteI believe that people should be able to delete things that they have posted in the past because some things deserve to be deleted
ReplyDelete