The EU has plans to propose a new law, that will ensure internet users “right to be forgotten”, to the European Commission. People will be able to ask for data about themselves to be deleted. And if it goes through, companies will be forced to comply, unless they have a legitimate reason to keep the information on record.
The new proposal is a part of the overhaul of the commission’s 1995 Data Protection Directive, and is thought to be an action taken to help young adults and teenagers manage their own online reputation more carefully. While young adults might enjoy harmless and fun activities online, like playing Minecraft or partypoker, their social networking habit, can cause problems if their personal information is not monitored.
“These rules are particularly aimed at young people as they are not always as aware as they could be about the consequence of putting photos and other information on social network websites, or about the various privacy settings available,” said Matthew Newman.
With these regulations in place, it will be easier for people to delete embarrassing or inappropriate details from their online profiles, for when they apply for jobs in the future. However the ruling will not give people the right to delete their medical or police records.
Other measures the bill will cover are: an obligation for all firms to notify users and the authorities about data that is lost through hacking, and other breaches of security as soon as possible. The bill will also force firms to ask permission to use data about a user, and prevent them from using data based upon an assumption of permission.
The new law would apparently give people easier access to the data held about them too. And if they are unsatisfied, will have the right to move the data to a different provider or have it deleted. This will not apply to certain things such as newspaper archives though.