The Right To Be Forgotten: A Comparative Legal Analysis Across Brazil, Finland And India
- IJLLR Journal
- Dec 4, 2025
- 2 min read
Vedika Agarwal & Taranjeet Singh, Symbiosis Law School, Pune
Chapter 1: Introduction and Scheme of Study
Introduction:
With the arrival of the digital age, technology has transformed the way in which information is created, disseminated, and preserved. The access to instant and indefinite storage often causes situations where data that’s once published is often immortalised, impossible to erase yet accessible. While such access may assure greater transparency, at the same time, there have been instances where such access has created serious issues regarding “an individual's right to privacy”, their right to autonomy, and their right to dignity. As a result, the concerns led to conversations and discourse about “the Right to be Forgotten”; which “is essentially the right” an individual has to remove access to their “information from the public record”, post having accomplished its legal purpose. “The right to privacy” finds its roots in “Article 12 1 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights” that enshrines that “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”
This provision creates a two-fold obligation on the state, including: preventing unjustified interference with “an individual's” private “life and” reputation, which incurs the obligation for safeguarding privacy and reputation from unwarranted interference by state or non-state actors. This means that individuals can expect legal remedies in lieu of unwarranted interference. This research analyses how the right to privacy and reputation is addressed across Brazil, India, and Finland, highlighting current and emerging legal frameworks in each country.
