The “Right to be Forgotten”: Remembering Freedom of Expression 2016 Policy Brief Executive Summary ARTICLE 19 Free Word Centre In this policy brief, ARTICLE 19 provides comprehensive recommendations on how to 60 Farringdon Road ensure protection of the right to freedom of expression with regard to the so-called “right London to be forgotten.” EC1R 3GA United Kingdom The “right to be forgotten” usually refers to a remedy which in some circumstances enables T: +44 20 7324 2500 individuals to demand from search engines the de-listing of information about them which F: +44 20 7490 0566 appears following a search for their name. It can also refer to demands to websites’ hosts E:
[email protected] to erase certain information. More broadly, it has been considered as a right of individuals W: www.article19.org "to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent information about them is Tw: @article19org communicated to others”1 or as a right that gives the individual increased control over Fb: facebook.com/article19org information about them. It has been categorised as a privacy right even though it applies to information that is, at least to some degree, public. ISBN: 978-1-910793-33-6 © ARTICLE 19, 2015 The “right to be forgotten” is expressly recognised neither in international human rights instruments nor in national constitutions. Its scope remains largely undefined: it ranges from a This work is provided under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 2.5 licence. more limited right protected by existing data protection law to broader notions encompassing You are free to copy, distribute and display this work and to make derivative works, except for the images the protection of reputation, honour and dignity.