Right To Be Forgotten

What is the right to be forgotten?- THE HINDU 

The Delhi High Court, in its recent ruling, has laid down the principles governing the right to be forgotten. 

About Right to be Forgotten

• The right to be forgotten means a person’s right to get their personal information removed, erased or de-indexed from public digital platforms when it is outdated, harmful, irrelevant, or no longer serves any public interest.
• This concept became important after the 2014 Mario Costeja González case, where the European Court of Justice directed Google to remove outdated search results about him. Later, it was included as the right to erasure under Article 17 of the GDPR in the European Union.

Evolution of the Right to be Forgotten in Indian Law

•  Constitutional Foundation-The idea gained legal strength after the Supreme Court’s judgment in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, 2017.
• Privacy as a Fundamental Right- In this case, the Supreme Court held that privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.
• Recognition of Informational Privacy- The judgment also recognised informational privacy, meaning an individual has control over how their personal data is collected, used and shared.
• Role of High Courts- After the Puttaswamy judgment, several High Courts dealt with requests related to removal, masking or anonymisation of personal information from court records and online platforms.
• Delhi High Court Judgment, 2026- The May 2026 Delhi High Court judgment attempted to address this gap by creating a more balanced approach between privacy rights and open justice.

What are the practical challenges?

• Enforcement remains the primary hurdle. Even after a court orders the removal of search results, an acquittal judgment might still rank highly in name-based searches.
• Search algorithms often prioritize the "shadow of crime"—the initial accusation—making it the most visible result for users.
• While de-indexing offers some relief, it does not address mirrors, archived copies, or social media dissemination.
• Without robust technical compliance and inter-platform coordination, the right to be forgotten may remain more symbolic than practical.

What is the relationship between the right to be forgotten and DPDP Act?

1. The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, provides only a limited "right to erasure" under section 12.
2. This right is mainly based on user consent and fails to cover essential areas like judicial records and public archives.
3. The Act is currently ineffective because its specific rules have not been officially notified yet.
4. Additionally, the Data Protection Board remains non-operational, leaving a gap in enforcement.