In an age where our digital footprints stretch infinitely across the internet, where nudes and pornographic materials fall like droplets of rain in a tropical forest, the idea of a “right to be forgotten” offers a tantalising promise to curb this monster hiding in the storages and galleries of various phones.
In our interconnected world, where every click, post, and mention contributes to an ever-expanding digital ledger, it can become a menace in the future! The right to be forgotten has firmly arrived in Uganda.
WHAT IS THE “RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN”?
The Right to be Forgotten (RTBF), also known as the Right to Erasure, empowers individuals to request the removal of certain personal data from search engine results and, in some cases, directly from websites.
It’s not about physically deleting every trace of information from the internet. It primarily focuses on delisting links from search engine results that are inadequate and irrelevant. It is essentially a right to have personal information about a person removed from online searches and directories under specific circumstances.
The intent is to give individuals more control over their personal information and reputation in the digital realm, acknowledging that what was once publicly available might no longer be relevant or fair to be easily discoverable years later. Article 27(2) of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution guarantees the right to privacy.
Under the DPPA cap 97, particularly Section 10, data controllers are rightly hindered from collecting, holding, or processing personal data in ways that infringe on a data subject’s privacy. Section 28 provides for rectification, blocking, erasure and destruction of personal data.
Furthermore, it places an obligation on data controllers to “destroy or delete data that the data subject no longer has the right to retain. It gained significant global prominence following a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in May 2014, in the case of Google Spain SL, Google Inc. v. Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD).
The ECJ sided with Costeja, ruling that Google, as a data controller, was obliged to remove links to that data. This decision fundamentally shifted the balance of power, placing a significant responsibility on search engine operators to evaluate and act on such requests.
The Right to be Forgotten (RTBF) is particularly important in the context of erasing nudity, as we live in an era where information persists indefinitely, and past mistakes can negatively affect individuals’ lives, including their employment, relationships, and mental well-being.
The RTBF offers a mechanism for individuals to regain control over their digital narrative. The RTBF under the erasure of nudity can save jobs and trauma from past mistakes.
An article on the internet titled “Digital harassment threatens women in media professions” by Akademie wrote that “In 2015 Antia Fabiola was fired by the TV station because nude photos of her had also been leaked.”
This right facilitates rehabilitation; take an example of individuals who intentionally release their nudes for fame and have served their penalties; it provides a chance for a fresh start, preventing outdated information from permanently hindering their ability to reintegrate into society.
Be that as it may, there is a challenge that the internet is borderless, and most people here in Uganda attribute the right to be forgotten to be a European construct following the Google Spain case.
This leads to questions about its global applicability. Should a link delisted in Uganda also be invisible to users in Europe, Asia or somewhere in Africa? Some individuals argue that this practice violates the right to access information as outlined in Article 41 of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution.
In Uganda’s digital transformation, the right to be forgotten stands as a crucial safeguard, offering individuals the power to influence their online legacy and ensuring that the internet, while a powerful tool for information, does not become an inescapable prison of their past.
We should allow the conversation about what belongs in our digital past and what violates privacy, like nudity, to fade.
mwanjegid@gmail.com
The author is the president of the Law Students Association of East Africa and a law student at Nkumba University.
great article
it is educative