The Ethics of Memory in a Digital Age — Interrogating the Right to be Forgotten

Citation

Genevieve Laura Silvanus (2016), "The Ethics of Memory in a Digital Age — Interrogating the Right to be Forgotten", Records Management Journal, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 102-104. https://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-11-2015-0040

This book is a collection of seven essays linked by the common theme of memory in a digital age, specifically with the impact of the proposed Right to be Forgotten (referred to in the book as RtbF). This right is contained within the European Commission Proposal for Regulation COM 2011/12[1], and, as several authors in this book point out, has been met with considerable apprehension, particularly Article 17 which is discussed at length.

Interestingly, each author in this collection interprets the right slightly differently, although in broadly similar terms. Generally, it is seen as not the right to erase but to “stop bringing back data from the past” (p. 83). Possible ways to achieve this are discussed, some more practical than others, e.g. taking newspaper articles to erase identifying data on a case-by-case basis as suggested by Terwagne. More sensible examples include privacy by default setting (p. 96), or by deleting links or de-indexing so that information is not erased, but has a limited audience which is probably closer to that which was originally intended (p. 84).

The essays, except for Brighigni’s, at best ignore the basic human need to be part of a community and desire to be remembered. They dismiss “unsocial” social media, focussing on the following negative implications: the impossibility of knowing everyone who will view a record; stripping of social norms; desire to delete unwanted photos/accounts of behaviour and de-contextualisation. Interconnectivity and the spread of information are considered entirely in a negative view, rather than achieving a balance; it is a lot quicker to find stuff out (this is acknowledged by Korenhof and Koops (p. 108), although again not in a positive way).

As an archivist, I was surprised by the lack of consideration of core archival principles. Accountability, closure periods, trustworthiness and even appraisal are not mentioned by name, and barely in intention. This seems a bizarre and an important omission, as several are written by archivists and are about practical applications in archives. Only once (in Chapter 2) is it mentioned that archives need to be complete, but this is quickly dismissed as being covered by other legal procedures. Chapter 2 is heavily influenced by the author’s employment within a specialist Cold War and Communism archive (the OSA Archivum at the Central European Univeristy) with a very different collection and ethos to a more “traditional” archive. Svekely also questions whether RtbF is at odds to archives generally, as he believes archivists want to make things accessible (p. 34). Again, I would suggest that the core principles entrenched as Hilary Jenkinson’s “Manual of Archive Administration” would override this. Although Terwagne comes close (p. 84), something that no-one questions is whether archives are, in fact, against the principle, as we process data for “purposes other than that which it was intended for” merely by cataloguing it and allowing it to be used.

There are some really interesting issues within the book as a whole, which have been cleverly put together so that it builds momentum. The first five chapters focus on the nature of memory (the need to forget and forgive, ability to start again and have ownership of your identity), the impending paradigm shift and post-scarcity, creating a messy and incoherent view of not only of the present condition but also allowing reconstruction of the past, with increased indexing and putting online of archives, particularly newspapers. Forgetting is viewed by most of these authors as a necessary act of memory, and indeed healthy (see p. 12). We process within our mind, forgetting in order that we might remember “important” information and make sense of the world. Hyperconnectivity is described as the “Eternity Effect” and “Perfect memory”, which may mean that not only are we unable to escape from our past or reinvent ourselves, but also that the past itself becomes an everlasting present (p. 75). Traces of our Internet history are left everywhere with cookies and IP addresses (Andrade suggests the Internet becomes a tattoo), and indeed, we may find that intelligent search engines mean we are trapped in an ever-narrowing version of our search histories and therefore “hyperconnectivity can be strangely reductive” (p. 55). Hoskins raises the issue that institutional censoring can also have the opposite effect in the digital age. He uses the Jimmy Savil scandal as a contemporary example, where BBC3 stopped airing episodes of Top of the Pops 2 featuring Savil, so users simply turned to YouTube.

Korenhof and Koops (Chapter 6) raise the interesting issue of how the right might be interpreted by someone who has altered their identity fundamentally, in this case changed the gender assigned at birth. They point out that it will be incredibly traumatic for their subject (a hypothetical character they name “online Agnes”) to have to request the removal of each piece of information available online from every data controller, particularly having to prove her previous identity each time. The chapter discusses at length the different legal viewpoints of her case (including the Right to be Forgotten, Freedom of Expression, topical interest and the “household exemption” included within the Right to be Forgotten), practically and effectively explaining them.

Business interests such as the ability to sell information are commented upon, and appraisal is mentioned (although not by name) as against the economic trend (p. 85). The problems of the “household exemption” clause, where information can be used within a household, are shown to be seriously outdated. In tagging someone on a photograph, not only can they see it, but also their friends and so on, which may number hundreds of people.

At first, Chapter 7 does not seem to sit well with the rest of the book. Brighigni writes about the Archive of Pieve Santo Stepfano, a collection of 7,000 diaries and memoirs in a small town in Tuscany. This archive exists entirely so that individuals can be remembered, at odds with the desire to be forgotten promoted by the remainder of the book. This chapter, however, provides a much-needed balance and raises some interesting issues. Perhaps an archive of “ego-writings” is how we deal with the messy past (p. 54) and the post-scarcity data overload.

Some issues could have been explored further. Hoskins, for example, includes a section on “The Past on Trial”, including the Jimmy Savil scandal and Hillsborough disaster, which could have been explored further and felt slightly underdeveloped. Perhaps this was due to word constraints, perhaps other ideas, such as the legitimacy of archives and whether we need archives at all, were considered too radical and skimmed over.

The conclusions reached by the authors on the impact and implications of the proposed act vary. Most agree that its main use will be for the erasure of a single act or action that one wishes to forget, but will otherwise have limited impact. The Right to be Forgotten already has a basis in law; for example, criminal records are wiped clean after a certain period of time, and there are already Data Protection Acts, although these need updating. Hoskins believes the right “suggests a nostalgia for a previous media age” (p. 56). Terwagne suggests that instead of the onus being on the individual to request deletion of information, we could adopt a “Privacy by default” setting, where information is automatically deleted after a certain period of time – an inbuilt retention schedule. This viewpoint will worry anyone concerned with accountability. Indeed, this excellent book underlines the fact that archivists need to be involved in discussions of the Right to be Forgotten and digital ethics in general. Rather than simply reacting, we need to be at the table actively discussing.

Note

See http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/files/factsheets/factsheet_data_protection_en.pdf