[okfn-discuss] Right to be forgotten ruling

Theodora Middleton theodora.middleton at okfn.org
Thu May 22 11:32:13 UTC 2014


Hey everyone,

Really interesting topic.

We've just published a piece from Rufus laying out some of the issues and
concerns on the Open Knowledge blog:

"The 'right to be forgotten' - a threat to transparency and open data?"

http://blog.okfn.org/2014/05/22/the-right-to-be-forgotten-a-threat-to-transparency-and-open-data/

Best,

Theodora


On 22 May 2014 00:00, Anna Daniel <a.daniel at griffith.edu.au> wrote:

> the original publication and the search engine are considered separately:
>> the public record of a newspaper may not be deleted even if the link to it
>> from a search website is removed."
>>
>
> that's the bit I'm struggling with :-)
>
>
> On Thu, May 22, 2014 at 7:17 AM, Andrew Gray <andrew at generalist.org.uk>wrote:
>
>> On 20 May 2014 07:22, Tony Bowden <tony.bowden at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> >> If it's been released into the public sphere it should stay there.
>> >
>> > Many countries already have laws that recognise a value in allowing
>> > information to decay — e.g. expunged records or spent convictions
>> > under Rehabilitation of Offenders laws. There are certainly
>> > interesting technical challenges to achieving things like this in
>> > practice, but that doesn't mean that the underlying goal isn't a
>> > worthwhile one.
>>
>> Applying hard and fast "it's public so it's public forever" rules
>> sound great until you start looking at the fuzzy edges ;-).
>>
>> Things like the rehabilitation laws are a very good example of this -
>> certainly in the UK, it boils down to "yes, it's still technically
>> public, and you can tell people about it, but you can't force them to
>> disclose it and you can't make a big fuss about it if you're motivated
>> by malice". Lots of nuance there without ever saying "it's secret
>> now".
>>
>> But, of course, it relies on an analogue age when you wouldn't know
>> about this without actively going out and looking for it. Privacy
>> through inertia and obscurity. Our concepts of privacy have been built
>> up around this idea of things that are "public" but only in the
>> proverbial dusty filing cabinet, and we're still having to get used to
>> the idea that things which were previously obscure are obscure no
>> longer, without ever having technically changed the way in which
>> they're "public". This is simply the most recent manifestation of it.
>>
>> On which note...
>>
>> I've just seen a set of notes on this ruling from the UK Information
>> Commissioner's Office, the body responsible for (inter alia)
>> overseeing data protection & the security of personal information, and
>> will be one of the people to who challenged cases get referred:
>>
>>
>> http://iconewsblog.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/four-things-weve-learned-from-the-eu-google-judgment/
>>
>> A key note to bear in mind:
>>
>> "There are some who are seeking to draw out much wider implications of
>> the judgment for freedom of expression in general.  It is important to
>> keep the implications in proportion and recognise that there is no
>> absolute right to have links removed. Also, the original publication
>> and the search engine are considered separately: the public record of
>> a newspaper may not be deleted even if the link to it from a search
>> website is removed."
>>
>> --
>> - Andrew Gray
>>   andrew.gray at dunelm.org.uk
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>>
>
>
>
> --
> Kind regards,
> Anna Daniel, PhD.
> Information Policy
> Griffith University
>
> t.: 0439 061 834 | a.daniel at griffith.edu.au
> I ascribe to the email charter: http://emailcharter.org
> Disclaimer*:* this information is provided for general guidance only and
> does not constitute legal advice.
>
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>


-- 

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