Right to be Forgotten: A New Privacy Right in the Era of Internet

The right to be forgotten is a new right proposed in the context of information society. Reactions to this right vary from country to country because the concept and rationale are not clearly fixed yet. The absence of a consensus on this point has the potential to create uncertainty in an information society that is becoming borderless. Country-specific decisions are not enough for the smooth development of this concept and there is an urgent need to reach a consensus around core points. The starting point of the argumentation here is whether the right to be forgotten is a part of the right of privacy or a totally different right. In spite of some differences, the chapter argues that the right should be deemed an extension of privacy. However, because understandings on the concept of privacy itself are not harmonized, there is a confrontation between countries, specifically between European countries and the United States. The concept of privacy was born at the end of the nineteenth century and countries have developed it taking into account their own fundamental values. However, because of the borderless character of society today, the conflict between fundamental values, notably the privacy to protect the dignity of the individual versus the right to know to guarantee freedom of expression, comes to the surface. This conflict is one of the traditional issues related to privacy and is particularly serious when contemporary societal changes are not taken in consideration. This blocks the possibility of a consensus on the ideal concept of privacy today. An analysis on the right to be forgotten clarifies traditional questions on privacy and it may also be necessary to modify the general theory itself. At the end, the chapter focuses on the current situation of the right to be forgotten in Japan.