Perpetuity of the Digital Past and the Scales of Legal Justice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63939/ajts.q3bzgt57Keywords:
Digital Memory, Right to be Forgotten, Privacy, Digital Panopticon, Principle of ProportionalityAbstract
This study examines the problematic of privacy in the digital era amid the ongoing tension between the imperative of "digital memory" and the entitlement to the "right to be forgotten." The research investigates the philosophical and epistemological shift brought about by modern technologies, wherein memory has transformed from its selective human paradigm anchored in an existential equilibrium between recollection and forgetting into an extended artificial infrastructure characterized by absolute permanence, infinite replication, and autonomy from human will. The study aims to conceptualize the right to be forgotten as a modern legal mechanism and a philosophical necessity that prevents the fixation of an individual's identity within their past informational footprint, thereby granting them a second chance to reconstruct the self and transcend past negative occurrences. Furthermore, the research highlights the conflict between this right and competing constitutional mandates, such as freedom of expression and the public's right to know, while addressing empirical challenges like the transnational nature of the Internet and the hegemony of Big Tech conglomerates. The study concludes by recommending a paradigm shift from rigid statutory rules to a flexible, judiciary-led approach grounded in the principle of proportionality and ad-hoc evaluation, ultimately balancing the protection of human dignity with the free flow of information.
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