We can’t allow big tech companies thwart the ‘right to remember’

The European Union recently adopted laws embodying a proposed “right to be forgotten,” to protect individuals from eternal memorialization of unfortunate past indiscretions. However, I feel it’s time to propose a complementary “right to remember,” to ensure that history cannot be erased or rewritten at the whim of those who control the systems we use to communicate, plan, and lead our lives.

Recent court cases have shown that the largest, most powerful companies controlling the internet are willing to take extreme positions regarding their right to control data after it’s been made public. They abuse ambiguous, out-of-date US legislation such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to threaten and punish companies that dare to collect data that is explicitly intended for public view. They also employ sophisticated software to thwart and discourage automated collection of data they deem undesirable.

Source: We can’t allow big tech companies thwart the ‘right to remember’