Forget me not: the clash of the right to be forgotten and freedom of expression on the Internet

The European Union's (EU) proposed enactment into law of the ‘right to be forgotten’ aims to provide users with more control over their personal data by granting them the right to request erasure of information from ‘data controllers’. While legislative efforts to extend the scope of users' rights to protect their personal data should be lauded, without clearly defined limits, the right to be forgotten presents numerous challenges in its practical application. The nebulous boundaries and susceptibility to misuse of the right to be forgotten make it a blunt instrument for data protection with the potential to inhibit free speech and information flow on the Internet. Considering the ‘borderless’ characteristic of data flow over the Internet, the intent of the right to be forgotten fails to recognize disparities in data protection laws across various legal systems. Specifically, in its currently proposed form, the right to be forgotten contrasts with the safeguards for free expression afforded by the First Amendment in the United States.