ABSTRACT
The adoption in Europe of what is commonly referred to as the right to be forgotten (RTBF) is seen by many as an effective way to alleviate some of these concerns. Designed to allow people to control what others can “remember” about them, the RTBF sits on two core mechanisms: de-indexing and source takedown. The RTBF is a play on memory. As Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger suggests, “remembering is a two-step process” that implies the transfer of information to long-term storage and the recall of that information from memory. The RTBF and the Privacy by design (PbD) approach are often thought of as addressing two distinct moments in the management of information flows: PbD focuses on data collection and generation, and the RTBF focuses on communication and access. The disruptive impact of the RTBF in privacy circles may explain why it is seen as revolutionary.
