MegLeta

We actually don't have a lot of data on who is trying to be forgotten and for what. Rich people can buy privacy (for the most part) - that's always been true. But those that have been wrongly arrested or the victim of revenge porn or otherwise gained attention of a platform that will last longer than a few months don't necessarily have a lot of resources and worth considering. Not to mention that it's not just content the right to be forgotten reaches - it's also data trails, which we all have.

Yes, France has fined Google for not complying properly with takedown requests. Google started using geolocation to edit results - previously it was editing by country domain. Generally, I am in favor of each country setting their own privacy laws and respecting those of others. I would prefer that countries only restrict access beyond there borders when there is a proven need to do so (evidence of mass work around) - but I have never been able to come up with such a proven need. If there is mass work around (meaning VPNs are being used to mask IP address to skirt the geolocation filter), there is extreme public interest and probably something I wouldn't support forgetting.

What should the US government do to assist Google is a great question. Considering the US government has already made some Europeans angry recently (namely the Snowden-NSA revelations), they're probably not eager to 1) cause more animosity with European data protection agencies or 2) show even more collaboration with US tech companies.

Certainly different citizens represented by different governments will have different versions of rights to be forgotten – but the idea is quite popular, even here in the US. Companies hate it, of course, because it’s more work for them and seemingly reduces the validity of the information they provide. The most successful approach appears to be to establish it as a “right” based on public support (and any number of justifications like security, dignity, privacy, etc) then fine companies for non-compliance. It’s not exactly cooperative, but it depends on the company. Lots of companies also want to be perceived as giving the public what it wants and certainly want to be perceived as respectful of civil rights. Google challenged the right to be forgotten in Spain, but after it lost at the Court of Justice of the EU, Microsoft voluntary put up a similar an online takedown form for EU users to submit requests to have URLs removed from Bing search results.

The next generation will always shock the last. Nancy Jo Sales's new book, American Girls, describes how these older high schoolers are mortified by what freshmen are doing. Somehow time is collapsing again. Presumably we, no matter the generation, will consider some behaviors to be negative behavior. Negative behavior is hard to jostle lose, according to cognitive science, no matter how progressive or open-minded we want to be. So I think there will always be some desire for a right to be forgotten.

There are a few pictures where I look like I've swallowed a bug or been frozen for a couple decades that I could do without, but otherwise I currently sit unscathed. I consider myself lucky!