If the proposed media policy formulated by regional and local consultants in 2023 gets approved to be implemented in Rwanda, one of the new legislations that may come as a result of it is the “right to be forgotten” law. Also known as the “the right to erasure” in some parts of the world, it is a concept that allows people to request for the removal of specific personal information about them from online platforms. ALSO READ: Inside Rwanda’s new proposed media policy Such a law can apply to search engines like Google, as well as social media platforms. With it, specific links containing personal information can be de-indexed from such platforms upon request of an individual, if the applicant meets specific criteria. How does it work? As part of the law, individuals can ask organisations to erase their personal data if specific criteria are met. In the European Union (EU), for example, individuals are allowed to request that organisations remove and delete personal information about them from online platforms. It can apply to such cases as defamatory social media posts, information about spent legal convictions, allegations from newspaper reports that are later disproven, images of individuals that attract disparaging comments, images or videos of people used without their knowledge for malicious purposes. Philbert Murwanashyaka, a business entrepreneur and tech enthusiast with interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR), pointed out that it is a powerful law which can have impact, but he noted that it will require sensitisation that people will get to know about it. He also said that the government needs to put in place proper jurisdiction around the use of such laws so that they will be utilised for the right purposes. “The government will need to educate people so that they know about the de-indexing process, how it can be done well, who can benefit from it, and who is not allowed to use it,” he noted. Global experiences In France, the “Right to be Forgotten” law, also known as the right to erasure, allows individuals to request that their personal data be deleted from online platforms under certain circumstances, essentially allowing them to be forgotten on the internet. The law is primarily implemented through the French Data Protection Act, which aligns with the broader European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) principles regarding data privacy. Individuals have the right to access their personal data stored by companies and request corrections to inaccurate information. ALSO READ: The case for a civil defamation law in Rwanda According to the World Economic Forum, the EU established its right to be forgotten law in 2014, and the legislation is part of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Some of the places where such laws have been applied include Japan, where, in 2016, a legal ruling recognised a man's right to be forgotten on Google. In the Netherlands, the capital city Amsterdam developed a software that can blur out people who appear in images collected by its mobile mapping team. How such laws are enforced In an interview with The New Times, Irina Tsukerman, a security lawyer as well as geopolitical and business analyst and President of Scarab Rising Inc., noted that the process of applying the right to be forgotten involves the “deletion request” where under specific conditions, people can ask for the deletion of their personal data. The request is sent to the organisations, for example search engines, to ask that links to outdated or sensitive personal information be removed from search results. Tsukerman says, for example, that in France, the data protection authority, known as the CNIL (Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés), is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Right to be Forgotten law and handling complaints. “However, it's important to note that France that has the appropriate legal infrastructure to implement this law, agencies that have been created to enforce it, and the means to go after violating companies,” she noted. ALSO READ: Eight facts about Rwanda media financial status Moreover, Tsukerman noted that there are several challenges that can be posed during the implementation of such laws. For example, she pointed out that the law's extra-territorial reach could limit access to information globally. “The law could set a dangerous precedent that allows national authorities to impose global restrictions on freedom of expression. The law could threaten freedom of expression and the right to access information,” she noted. “The law may not be able to require the removal of information from companies outside of the jurisdiction. The right to be forgotten is not an absolute right and may not apply in certain cases, such as those involving freedom of expression, legal rulings, or the public interest,” she added. Tsukerman also noted that the right to be forgotten is “not absolute and may not apply in situations” where the information is considered to be of public interest or is necessary for legal reasons.
