The Right to be Forgotten
My father often lectures me about
the sin of omission because I would often keep things to myself even if
the situation dictates to share it. Although I agree with my father, I
also believe in the. virtue of omission. Not everything deserves to be
out there for the world to know. This is often forgotten by people
especially now that we have the internet to facilitate our connection
with people not only in our proximity but the whole world.
The
author Kevin Kelly writes that "The internet is a copy machine. Once
anything that can be copied is brought into contact with the internet,
it will be copied and those copies never leave. Once information is
posted, it is almost as good as an indelible mark on a person whether it
be good or bad. As long as the server exists or a copy of it is
backed-up, the information stays.
This reality would only be catastrophic so to speak if that information back fires. That rant shared in social media could cost a job or a career in an industry.
There is what they call the "Grandmother rule" in social media etiquette
which encompasses almost all the basics on what defines decorum on the
internet. This rule simply states that "Don't post anything you wouldn't
want your grandmother to see". However, this rule is often overlooked
because admit it or not we are a generation with the veracity to
overshare. More often than not we sometimes find ourselves in situations
that lead to humiliation and embarrassment simply because we have
shared too much of what we feel, think and know.
This is where we find use for the new concept of the right to be forgotten as relevant or a matter of consequence.
The Right to be Forgotten is a concept in international Human Rights which has been practiced in the European Union and Argentina. This concept of the Right to be Forgotten is best understood in the current context of social media and the prominent presence of everyone in the wide web. In its landmark ruling in May 2014, the European Union Court explains The Right to be Forgotten as:
"Individuals have the right - under certain conditions - to ask search engines to remove links with personal information about them. This applies where the information is inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive for the purposes of the data processing (para 93 of the ruling). The court found that in this particular case the interference with a person’s right to data protection could not be justified merely by the economic interest of the search engine. At the same time, the Court explicitly clarified that the right to be forgotten is not absolute but will always need to be balanced against other fundamental rights, such as the freedom of expression and of the media (para 85 of the ruling). A case-by-case assessment is needed considering the type of information in question, its sensitivity for the individual’s private life and the interest of the public in having access to that information. The role the person requesting the deletion plays in public life might also be relevant."
In order to appreciate the
relevance of this concept, imagine searching your name. This is
important because employers and credit investigators would often do
this. Now, what if say you or someone else posted some derogatory or
maligning things about you and mentions your name. If you are not lucky
enough this is indexed in search engines and even if the original
source is already deleted sometimes this stays in search engines.
This
new concept in international human rights would be helpful especially
to people who are victims of vindictive or malicious posts in the
internet that happened to be listed in search engines.
However,
there has been numerous criticism about this new concept in
international human rights because of its vagueness and practicality.
There
is also a valid fear that it might trample the freedom of expression
through censorship and used to sanitize history by rewriting it.
The latter is relevant to most of us here in the Philippines
especially in the coming elections. It is already bad that we are a
people who easily forget and forgive especially our leaders, what more
if we allow them to remove to public access to accounts of their
misdeeds.
There is still a lot of argument to be discussed whether the world should embrace this new human right. Until then it is our sole responsibility to be smart and conscientious of what we share with the world.
Write a digital story you can be proud of and is close to what you are offline.
________________________Write a digital story you can be proud of and is close to what you are offline.
References: Factsheet on the “Right to be Forgotten” ruling , Grandmother Rule
Photo Source : Shutterstock
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