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The Status of “The Right to Be Forgotten” in the United States

16 points by parvenu74 ↗ HN
In light of the recent episode of "Mr. Zuckerberg Goes to Washington," I've seen/heard some suggestions that we need a "Right to be Forgotten" in the United States. Are there any groups/agencies (EFF?) acting as a coordination and rallying point for pushing this in the United States?

7 comments

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Trahenirdet
The EFF seems to be taking a stand that legislation regarding an individual's "Right to be Forgotten" should not be forced upon entities outside of the jurisdiction where that legislation is in effect. [1] To try and answer your question, I wasn't aware of anything personally in the States, but found this article [2] which references some pending legislation in the New York State Assembly [3].

It seems that this concept might be creeping across the pond.

[1] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/11/we-wont-let-you-forget... [2] https://www.denverpost.com/2018/03/26/delete-personal-data-s... [3] http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A05323&term...

cft
That may be hard here due to the First Amendment

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/right-to-...

mikece
Facebook, Google, the credit agencies, et al would need to make the argument, then, that collecting personal data is protected speech. Otherwise, whats the legal objection?
test6554
US citizens have the ability to publish almost any information as a form of protected speech. So either you have to censor someone and violate their free speech rights, or you have to let them say what they want, preventing things from being forgotten. The courts are reluctant to violate the first amendment.
parvenu74
Is publishing the issue here or services collecting and then selling the information? Also, I don't think the mere act of collecting information and making it available is (or should be) considered "speech." The mere act of publishing isn't journalism.
test6554
Speech in legal terms is not limited to the vibrations of vocal cords. It is any form of expression. This includes art, literature, notes, letters, videos, presentations, websites, databases, even spending money is a show of support for some one or some thing.
fogzen
I demand you forget this comment and my username from your memory!