Online, the Right to Be Forgotten Doesn't Exist Jorge Ramos - Fusion
go to original August 24, 2014

Everybody makes stupid mistakes from time to time. I have my own list of moments I'd like to forget. But these days, apologizing and moving on is becoming almost impossible, since every moment of our lives is recorded online.

If at any point you post some idiotic remark to Twitter or Facebook that you immediately regret, a record of it will always be available. Everything we've ever typed, texted or photographed is stored in databases that are never entirely erased. The dead arise from these digital cemeteries with a few clicks.

As the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden showed us, nothing is secret, and the recent theft of over a billion passwords by a Russian crime ring confirmed that no information is secure. These days in most public spaces, someone is always watching and keeping tabs on what is going on. And when a crime is committed, the police can often look at the calls the victim made and sites visited on his or her computer as they search for suspects.

"Modern cell phones are not just another technological convenience," Supreme Court Justice John Roberts wrote in a recent unanimous decision banning police from searching suspects' cellphones without a warrant. "With all they contain and all they may reveal, they hold for many Americans 'the privacies of life.'" It seems that even judges have their secrets.

What comes up when you search for your own name on Google or Bing, and how much of it is true? Along with the outdated information and mistakes, some people have to cope with lies and slander. In many countries, there is little one can do, but the European Court of Justice, based in Luxembourg, came to the rescue of EU citizens.

Read the rest at Fusion

Photo: Getty Images

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