Anyone, who publicly posts statements on the Internet that are intended for the general public cannot assert a right to be forgotten afterwards. However, should the Internet “learn” to forget, when the term “digital eraser” was chosen as non-word of the year several months ago? Even if a forced deletion of information would restrict communication, transparency, and the availability of information?
The question whether there is a right to be forgotten on the Internet will now soon be brought before the courts in the EU. The European Court of Justice will hear the case of a Spanish man who urges Google to erase his name from its search index. A controversial topic in which the Google’s position is clear: The search engine giant does not consider itself responsible for negative or inappropriate information from a person’s past and, therefore, won’t delete it from the Internet. Google sees itself as host of information, not controller or publisher.
