Topics: Law, Tech, U.S.
Public Release Date: March 11, 2015
In 2014, the European Union’s Court of Justice determined that individuals have a right to be forgotten, “the right—under certain conditions—to ask search engines to remove links with personal information about them.” It is not absolute, but meant to be balanced against other fundamental rights, like freedom of expression. In a half year following the Court’s decision, Google received over 180,000 removal requests. Of those reviewed and processed, 40.5% were granted. Largely seen as a victory in Europe, in the U.S., the reaction has been overwhelmingly negative. Was this ruling a blow to free speech and public information, or a win for privacy and human dignity?
ARGUING YES:
Paul Nemitz: Director of Fundamental Rights & Citizenship, DG Justice & Consumers to the EU Commission
Eric Posner: Law Professor at the University of Chicago
ARGUING NO:
Andrew McLaughlin: CEO of Digg and Instapaper, Former Director of Global Public Policy at Google
Jonathan Zittrain: Professor at Harvard Law, Co-Founder of Berkman Center for Internet & Society
MODERATOR-IN-CHIEF:
John Donvan: Emmy award-winning journalist