I believe that people do have a “right to be forgotten” in certain cases. For instance, one person might have posted something that could be a source of embarrassment like an unflattering picture of themselves. Some cases are not as forgiving, such as a criminal record. Something like that should not be information that can be deleted, instead it should be helpful in seeing a person’s background for certain actions like flying out of the country or purchasing a firearm. For the smaller details that are of no consequence, people should have the “right to be forgotten.”
The “right to be forgotten” does not clash with the 1st Amendment’s “Free Speech” rights because the two ideals are distinctly different from each other. While the 1st Amendment seeks to protect the ability to have your own opinion and share it with others, the “right to be forgotten” seeks to protect the ability to maintain privacy and be able to delete information about oneself. If anything, these two ideals work in tandem with each other rather than clash.
Digital identity is who a person is based off of the information that can be gained online about them. The information ranges from the websites they visit, the content they post, their online usernames on social media sites and video games, and even the items you buy online. Your digital identity is controlled by a number of factors, the main ones being yourself and the websites you visit. You are partly in control because you are normally the one that is visiting websites, posting things, and buying things online. The websites you visit also have a hand in forming your digital identity because they all share information about you.
