After reading this case on Google and the Right to be Forgotten, I found it interesting and very shocking that every time you searched Mario Costeja Gonzalez his name popped up every time you searched his name in the google search bar. Even though the search results are considered relevant now because he paid off his debt over a decade ago, it is still his business and his privacy.
Technology has reduced the amount of control of our own personal data and it is threatening to our own privacy. Technology allows a stranger to search your name and find out your past addresses, your pictures on Facebook, your Instagram, etc. Another thing that happens with google, if you had a rough night and ended up getting arrested, one search and your mugshot is all over their computer screen or their phone. Technology has made it more difficult for everyone’s privacy to be controlled because you can’t even stop what is being put online, also you may not know half the stuff that is already posted. In this generation, and in this world, it is more difficult to stop everything being posted online because everything is done through technology, for example you can pay your bills online, online shopping, and websites that can easily store your personal data. The Information posted online is not always a good representation of the character you are.
We should be allowed to and be in control what is online for us to represent ourselves. Especially when it comes to jobs, if they search your name and see one thing they don’t think is work acceptable, there goes your chance at working at their company. I don’t think this right should be limited because we should be in total control in what we publish, it is and will always be our own personal right. Public policy in Europe gives individuals the right to request the removal of their personal data.
The purpose of the law is to support personal privacy by removing inaccurate, irrelevant and outdated information. In 2012, the European Union disclosed a data protection regulation draft for individuals to have the right to remove personal information from a search engine by submitting a completed form (Chayka,2014).
