Department of Economics
Date of this Version
5-2017
Citation
Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 60 (May 2017)
Abstract
Scholars and practitioners debate whether to expand the scope of the right to be forgotten—the right to have certain links removed from search results—to encompass global search results. The debate centers on the assumption that the expansion will increase the incidence of link removal, which reinforces privacy while hampering free speech. We develop a game-theoretic model to show that the expansion of the right to be forgotten can reduce the incidence of link removal. We also show that the expansion does not necessarily enhance the welfare of individuals who request removal and that it can either improve or reduce societal welfare. Our analysis has implications for understanding the impact of the global expansion of the right to be forgotten on privacy and free speech.
Included in
Databases and Information Systems Commons, Information Security Commons, Library and Information Science Commons, Other Economics Commons
Comments
© 2017 by The University of Chicago. Used by permission.