ABSTRACT

The life and death of data are closely connected, today, to the evolution of the information society. In fact, there are numerous problems that arise when analyzing the life-cycle of the data and, in particular, the moment of information death and the related difficulties in deleting the information itsaelf. In this chapter, the problem of “life and death” of the data is analyzed from different points of view. Alongside the exposition of traditional problems, such as the right to be forgotten (with a special attention to three forms of data oblivion: social, technical and legal) and the right to portability (especially as regulated by the GDPR), attention is also paid to the assets (from an economic and an emotional point of view) that the data come to generate in the life of every individual. Addressing of all these issues and the interconnections between technological, social and political issues within this framework is proving to be very complex for the legal scholar. On one side, the delegation to search engines and large platforms of initial decision-making on the deletion of information, alongside the exponential spread of artificial intelligence, algorithms and big data, are pushing away the possibility of effective legal control. On the other side, the provisions contained in the GDPR with reference to the portability of data and, above all, the more powerful right of deletion, could be useful attempts at rebalancing rights.