As the American technology news this week was being dominated by stories of third party applications sharing user data, the European Union was proposing an unprecedented notion – The Right to Be Forgotten.  The European Union has long been ahead of the United States in both data security and data privacy legislation.  As that body has sought to strengthen consumer and individual protections with respect to their data, the Commissioner has set forth a number of goals.  According to the commissioner, “Individuals should also be clearly informed in a transparent way on how, why, by whom, and for how long their data is collected and used. People should be able to give their informed consent to the processing of their personal data, for example when surfing online, and should have the “right to be forgotten” when their data is no longer needed or they want their data to be deleted.”

Consider the implications of such a right here in the United States.  This year has certainly seen its share of data breaches and is likely to see more before the year’s end.  If consumers had the right to be forgotten, then such breaches would likely diminish in impact.  Certainly, since this writer’s payment card details have been compromised a half dozen times in as many years, such a right would be attractive.  If consumers had the write to essentially erase their online presence and purchase history, the number of those affected by a data breach could be significantly reduced.  MSNBC’s Bob Sullivan has written a post that describes attempts at similar proposals in the United States.

As with most plans in cyberspace, there is a world of difference between the theoretical and the practical.  It will be interesting to see such a principle in practice.  While it’s nice to believe that I could go online and tick a box that says “Forget me,” the technology may not yet allow such a simple solution.  We will certainly follow the European initiative with interest to see what lessons can be learned there and how we can implement similar practices domestically.

Dr. Heather Mark, PhD.  SVP of Market Strategy