STRIKING THE RIGHT (TO BE FORGOTTEN) BALANCE: RECONCILING FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND PRIVACY – DIGNITY – AUTONOMY

Abstract

Technology has transformed the way we share and access information. One only needs to run a simple Google search to meet a person’s online persona. The abundant and long-lasting digital memory undoubtedly has its advantages. At the same time, it has far-reaching implications for privacy-dignity-autonomy interests. While there may never have been a time throughout human history when people may have been fully in control of their persona, neither have they been so deprived of control over their public image. The right to be forgotten reflects the claim of an individual to control their persona by offering a chance to reinvent one’s online persona by hiding and/or removing personal information from the internet. Since the internet is a primary medium of communication and a valuable source of information, the right to be forgotten poses a significant challenge to the effective exercise of free speech rights. For this reason, it has been the subject of debate across various jurisdictions, including India. The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, which is currently being scrutinized by a Joint Parliamentary Committee seeks to introduce the right to be forgotten along with a right to correction and erasure of personal information. While the proposed legislation would mean a step forward in data protection, it fails to strike the appropriate balance between the competing free speech and privacy-dignity-autonomy rights in the context of the proposed right. The author analyses how these competing rights may be reconciled and how the right to be forgotten may be squared with free speech in India.