I believe that the right to be forgotten is a tricky subject because of how it can theoretically be taken advantage of. Is anything related to past crimes or other incidents where the person is clearly at fault allowed to be deleted with ease? Yes, there will still be police records, but that type of information should be left online as a means of informing others of their misdeeds. In my opinion, being able to freely delete such data will cause the person who committed those acts to feel as if they can do whatever they please with almost no repercussions. They will probably learn nothing and continue to do the same thing over again; an especially bad message for children.
In my opinion, the right to be forgotten conflicts with our right to free speech because a person can remove anything that is directed towards them, including incriminating articles placed on blogs, websites, and forums. For example, a blogger may post how unappealing someone’s clothes, food, attitude or food is. Yes, the person being on the receiving end of these insults will be angry, but the blogger has the right to free speech. Deleting these posts without the bloggers consent definitely goes against the 1st amendment.
Digital identity can be defined as the persona we create for ourselves online. It includes our username, attitude, typing habits, posted videos, articles, tweets, posts, and more. Based on these factors, we may present ourselves as a serious, fun, or angry person. However, it’s impossible to be completely in charge of our digital identity as people will always have differing opinions about our persona. There may also be information online that cannot be removed for whatever reason. Because of this, it’s best to look past such negativity and present yourself the way you feel best.
