Technology & Innovation — November 7, 2010

The Right To Be Forgotten

The European Union is considering introducing legislation that would enable people to request that all personal information stored about them online be permanently deleted.

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Users could sue websites for invading their privacy and would have a right to be ‘forgotten’ online, under new proposals from the European Union. It has drafted potential legislation that would include new, unprecedented privacy rights for citizens sharing personal data.

Aimed in particular at the users of social networks such as Facebook and major sites such as Google, the move marks another step in the ongoing battle between information commissioners and major websites. … The ‘right to be forgotten’ would give users the power to tell websites to permanently delete all personal data held about them.

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