Posted: August 1st, 2022

EU “Right to be Forgotten” Law

EU “Right to be Forgotten” Law

With the rise of digital consumerism, technology has become a key battleground for multinationals that seek to expand their footprints across the globe. Social media and the general online footprint is becoming a critical factor in understanding consumer trend, attitudes, and interest. At the same time, there is little to no governance on how big data companies use people’s data, stored on their servers, to influence their perspectives and strong-arm consumer unknowingly to perceive certain ideologies, products, and trends. This is pure manipulation of the person’s free will for profit maximization. The GDPR, an EU law that came into effect on 25th May 2018, is one crucial law that seeks to regulate big companies from exploiting individuals and consumers collectively. The law seeks to make companies more accountable and responsible for their use of personal data for business gains. The GDPR replaces the 1995 Data Protection Directive that did not specify the required administrative fines when data protection measures were violated by big companies. The majority of online companies in the globalized age rely on unauthorized consumer data to create predictive technologies that they, in turn, use to exploit the consumers and decision-making skills by targeted marketing indirectly. This is a violation of personal privacy and works to empower big business and political tools while limiting people’s freedom.
The law mainly seeks to compel companies to inquire for consumer consent. The consent should be given explicitly by the consumer to the company. Consenting should be done before applying the use of their data for research and other purposes that may or may not work for the benefit of the consumer but the company. The main aim of the GDPR is to change how companies store and use data. With fines up to euros 20,000,000 for companies that fail to obey, the law seeks to give consumers back control on how their data is collected, used, and manipulated. The law readily avails data that companies have on a person readily to them as soon as they request the data. Personal data is described as a piece of information that companies might use to identify a person. This may include photos, names, phone numbers, and addresses. As such, companies are required to know the data they have on people and accurately organize them in an open platform that is safely secured. Safety measures need to be put in place to manage and secure the data. Risk assessment is also vital to avoid any form of data leaks. In case of a leak, the consumer should be notified within three days, post-leak. A privacy policy needs to be availed to the consumer as soon as the company has gained the consumer information explaining comprehensively how the data will be used and the potential risks associated. The privacy policy is for consumer individual approval and consent at no absolute charges. As such, employees need to be trained adequately as per the updated privacy policies that govern the GDPR. Since the GDPR allows consent to data use, it also makes it easy for people to opt-out of data collection and storage in the Right To Be Forgotten law where the consumer can request all their personal information deleted for minimal online footprint.
Foreign companies that seek to work within the EU need to maintain these laws of consent by contacting all their consumers individually. This is especially if the company has bought a new business or consumer data, they will be needed to notify each of the consumers within the database and maintain the previous company’s policy on data protection. There is no more implied consent, and the consumer needs to “opt-in” to a website’s privacy policy to gain access. This means that foreign companies need to institute that blanket measure so as not to lock out certain consumers. By instituting these measures, people outside the EU get to benefit from EU data protection laws by being consent for personal data use. If they need consumer data for them to access their services, they need to include a personal checklist that consumers attend to individually giving their consent. If they fail to comply, the company is free to deny them access, as much as the consumer is free to deny the company his or her data.

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