Case Study: Right to be Forgotten | UPSC Mains: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude PDF Download

Q: Ramesh, once a struggling theatre artist was accused and later freed from rape charges, which the jury found out to be ill conceived and wrongly targeted. Not able to handle the situation, he changed profession and moved on. Many years later, while his closest friends know about the incident, his co-workers do not. One day, out of curiosity, he surfs his personal records on the internet, and to his surprise, finds that the results reflect an old report in a local newspaper about the rape charges he faced.
Ramesh is upset; after all these years, he would like to be able to disclose the event only to whomever he wants. He has been informed about the decision of the European Court of Justice, which allows individuals to submit requests to a search engine to remove certain results from searches on their names, and citing the same, requests the search engine and media outlet to remove the results.
Valid arguments can be advanced for making the ‘Right to be Forgotten’ a fundamental right? What those arguments could be? What limitations, if any, can it be subjected to? Should there be any obligations on the search engines regarding cases, which are no longer relevant, as the one mentioned above?
Ans: The issues raised in the above case include:

• The right of an individual to live with dignity after being absolved of all charges in the past.
• The responsibility of INTERNET search engines to present unbiased information about past events while respecting an individual's right to privacy.
• Ramesh's fear of being linked to his past due to disclosure of facts through the INTERNET and his right to be forgotten.
• The applicability of extra-territorial laws within India.
• The tendency of Indian society to stereotype individuals based on distorted or misinterpreted facts.

These issues provide a basis for arguing that the Right to be Forgotten should be recognized as a fundamental right. However, infringement of fundamental rights typically involves actions by individuals or the state. Consequently, no legal action can be taken against stereotyping, hatred, or bias. For legal and administrative purposes, records of resolved cases should remain accessible in the public domain. Furthermore, information related to such cases can be obtained through the Right to Information when needed. While the INTERNET cannot be restricted from providing information, it can ensure that information about settled cases is supplemented with relevant and complete details. This would ensure that anyone searching for such information receives the full context of any incident. In his personal capacity, Ramesh may approach the government to request modifications involving page authors or search engines.