Lawyer Monthly Magazine - September 2021 Edition

38 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | SEP 2021 WHY WE NEED TO ALIGN INTERNATIONAL LAWS ON THE RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN from online news publications as well. ECtHR decisions can take time to become part of domestic law, and because UK law is now somewhat removed from Belgian law, it is likely to be a long time before we see the same swift decisions in the UK as we have in the EU. The right to be forgotten is a hot topic. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that a UK news publisher could receive a request to amend a historical article by removing their name or identifying data that would no doubt have to be given real consideration. This is where I argue that it is time for the UK to follow suit. The Belgian case was a clear example of where anonymisation of a person’s name for a spent crime no longer of public interest was correctly ‘forgotten’. If information were to remain in the public domain, it could have severe consequences for someone trying to rebuild their reputation and life. The discussion around the right to be forgotten must continue and swift action taken to implement the processes of the EU to help protect the privacy and respect of UK citizens. Progression in the UK While China, India, Saudi Arabia and the US remain exceptional cases, 15 out of 19 (almost 80%) of G20 countries now have full- fledged statutory data protection laws. By default, virtually all of these laws empower individuals to challenge the continued dissemination of personal data not only when such data may be inaccurate but also on broader legitimacy grounds. Within the EU, Google and other search engines have made an incredible difference by providing the ability to request the removal of personal data via RTBF, which many have now done with great success. These are all steps in the right direction toward helping individuals invoke their right to be forgotten and prevent damage to their reputation with personal data being removed or anonymised online. Now on the recent case of the ECtHR’s extended ruling on the Belgium RTBF request, I would like the UK legal system to follow suit and do more to safeguard the reputation of people online. UK courts typically consider judgements from the European Court of Human Rights. It will now be a question of whether UK courts feel that, considering UK law, they need to follow similar judgements, or whether they will lean more towards upholding the rights of freedom of expression from journalists and publications. Should they not follow suit, we may begin to see people making direct appeals to the European Court of Human Rights themselves if they felt that the UK courts had not ruled appropriately in their case for digital obscurity. I would like the UK legal system to follow suit and do more to safeguard the reputation of people online.