EU Debate: Free Expression v. Right To EXTREME Privacy

The ongoing wrangling over the sweeping implications contained in the EU’s Data Protection Regulation continues. A number of major U.S.-based technology companies have successfully weighed in on the draconian strictures first proposed. However, among the stickiest points remaining is inclusion of the so-called “Right to Be Forgotten” proposal. RTBF is intended to provide users with a framework for essentially deleting their digital lives from the internet. As impractical as this seems from an implementation or enforcement standpoint, there is substantial support for enactment across the 27 member states of the EU. Free expression and personal privacy supporters have drawn battle lines for what will be landmark legislation however it is finally written.