right to be forgotten
Digital memory deletion
The right to be forgotten is a legal concept allowing individuals to request removal of personal information from online searches and databases.
Rooted in European privacy law, it lets people petition search engines to delist outdated or irrelevant results about them: She invoked her right to be forgotten to remove articles about a decades-old arrest.
The principle balances privacy against public interest and press freedom.
Forcible prevention or concealment
- redactionObscuring sensitive text
- sanitizationCleaning to remove pathogens
- information controlManaging what others learn
- silenceTotal lack of sound
airbrush · purge · memory hole · historical revisionism · Streisand effect · press freedom · public interest · newsworthiness
Traceable internet activity history
- online presenceVisibility on the internet
- search enginesInternet lookup tools
- privacy settingsAccount visibility controls
- cookie managementHandling browser-stored site data
unsearchable · confidentiality · identity protection · personal data · reputation management · online reputation · deindexing
Official record removal
- erasureAct of wiping away
- rehabilitationRecovery from injury/addiction
- statute of limitationsLegal deadline for claims
- legal precedentPrior ruling with authority
rectification · court order · consent decree · litigation · jurisprudence · case law · defamation · public record
Securing sensitive information
- personal dataIndividual identifying details
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- rectificationAct of setting straight
- data processorMachine handling information
Using a false name
- unlistedNot in any registry
- untraceableImpossible to follow back
- incognitoWith identity concealed
- hiddenKept out of sight
undisclosed · unidentified · invisible · veiled · confidential · identity protection · deidentification · anonymization
suppression
Forcible prevention or concealment
- redactionObscuring sensitive text
- sanitizationCleaning to remove pathogens
- information controlManaging what others learn
silence · airbrush · purge · memory hole · historical revisionism · Streisand effect · press freedom · public interest · newsworthiness · free expression
digital footprint
Traceable internet activity history
- online presenceVisibility on the internet
- search enginesInternet lookup tools
- privacy settingsAccount visibility controls
cookie management · unsearchable · confidentiality · identity protection · personal data · reputation management · online reputation · deindexing
expungement
Official record removal
- erasureAct of wiping away
- rehabilitationRecovery from injury/addiction
- statute of limitationsLegal deadline for claims
legal precedent · rectification · court order · consent decree · litigation · jurisprudence · case law · defamation · public record · dignity
data protection
Securing sensitive information
- personal dataIndividual identifying details
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- rectificationAct of setting straight
pseudonymous
Using a false name
- unlistedNot in any registry
- untraceableImpossible to follow back
- incognitoWith identity concealed
hidden · undisclosed · unidentified · invisible · veiled · confidential · identity protection · deidentification · anonymization
name search
Hunt for an identity
- newspaper archiveStored collection of publications
right to be forgottenfreedom of information
Public access to state records
right to know · transparency · freedom of the press · FOIA · sunshine laws
right to be forgottenpublic shaming
Communal reputational punishment
cancel culture · scarlet letter · institutional memory · truth and reconciliation · public record
right, rights, righted, righting, rightful, rightfully, righteous, righteousness, to