On The Legal Protection Of "Forgotten Right" In The Big Data Age

With the development of information technology and global network the Internet becomes “default forgotten” to “default memory”. The advances of Web 2.0 and Big Data technology have led personal privacy information to an uncomfortable situation, along with unexpected negative impacts to privacy life and personal reputation. The “right to be forgotten” is based on the right of “Information Self-determination” and embodies the protection of personal privacy and reputation. It further elaborates and specifies the “right of erasure” under the online environment. The “right to be forgotten” also restores the power balance by giving effective control to individuals over their personal data. But there are still some debates between the “right to forgotten” and freedom of expression which need more details of the regulations to balance different rights. Since the “right to be forgotten” is so necessary to protect personal information in the Big Data Era, it should be introduced into the future of Chinese Personal Information Act. This paper is composed of four sections. Section 1 will discuss the backgrounds of the right to be forgotten and the importance of “forgiveness” in Big Data Era. Section 2 will analysis the “right to be forgotten” in EU data protection framework, including already existing principle and the implied right of erasure under the current Data Protection Directive and the conditions of the right to be forgotten in Article 17 of EU Data proposal. Section 3 adopt comparative analysis methodology and take ‘right to be forgotten” in the EU data framework and USA privacy Act into account. Section 4 make a through and critical analysis of current Chinese law about personal information, and discusses the impact on China Network Information Legislation.