‘Right to be forgotten’ is redrawing Internet content rules

Global IP

By Doris Estelle Long

Doris Estelle Long is a law professor, director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law and chairwoman of the intellectual property, information technology and privacy group at The John Marshall Law School. She has served as a consultant on intellectual property rights issues for diverse U.S. and foreign government agencies, including as attorney adviser in the Office of Legislative and International Affairs of the USPTO. She can be reached at 7long@jmls.edu.

Posted October 30, 2014 2:55 PM

Pre-Internet, the distribution of embarrassing photos, crude comments and even criminal records resided largely in the realm of bathroom walls and handbills. Bathroom walls could be washed, files lost, and photos destroyed. With the rise of digital communications, a simple Internet search can disclose a wide array of accurate (and inaccurate) information about virtually anyone. It isn’t only the rich and famous, such as Jennifer Lawrence, who have to worry about the public disclosure of private photos. To the …

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