An unrealistic and undesirable alternative to the right to be forgotten

Abstract

In their “Così fan tutte: A better approach than the right to be forgotten”, Martha Garcia-Murillo and Ian MacInnes (2018) present an alternative to the right to be forgotten. It mainly consists of changing social norms to a more open and transparent society and improving anti-discrimination laws. In this reply, I challenge their suggestions both empirically and normatively, arguing that they cannot achieve what they set-out; that their analysis of privacy and the right to be forgotten misses important aspects that go beyond discrimination; and that we have a shared interest in allowing individuals to live a partly opaque life.