Right to be forgotten a must for web users by Dan Worth
[image: A delete button for data privacy] Web users should have the right to request data held by internet firms such as Google and Facebook is removed for good. A recent poll on *V3* <http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/poll_vote/2444/online-privacy-protection>asked whether web users should have the right to be forgotten, and the overwhelmingly majority, 82 percent, said that yes, the right to request data be deleted is a must. Only one percent of respondents considered the burden this would place on firms, claiming it would be too onerous to introduce. By contrast, 17 percent said it should be harder for firms to gather in the first place, thereby removing the need for data deletion as web users would have more control over what data was collected from the off. The results were not surprising, according to Andy Kahl, senior product strategist at Ghostery, which provides tools to those concerned with how websites monitor users and gather data. "These results are consistent with what we hear from users - they're uncomfortable with the amount of data about them that's available online,” he said. He argued, though, that simply wiping all data was an unworkable situation, and instead, users should be able to select more detailed levels of data collection and removal. “The future for effective online privacy lies in informing users about trade-offs and allowing for transparent, granular choices. The ability to wipe the data clean is nice, but visibility into how that data is populated and how that data is used is the path to real privacy." This sentiment echoes similar concerns raised by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) that enforcing a right to be forgotten is unworkable<http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2257523/right-to-be-forgotten-unworkable-argue-data-watchdogs>, and instead users should be educated about how their data is collected and used so they can make more informed choices. -- *Bear http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/GNUZ/ * -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
