Time to forget the "right to be forgotten"

[Commentary] It is unfortunate that privacy laws have degenerated from upholding the "right to be left alone" to an overbearing attempt at obscuring reality. And where will this end?

If individuals have the right to erase public data about themselves, why stop with search engines? Did someone say something true about you on Facebook or Twitter? Time to file a complaint. Did you write something you regret in an email? Just require the email provider to track down and delete all copies of your message. You will never again need to worry about learning from your mistakes since you can just forget them.

The European Union is in the midst of updating its privacy laws, so this ruling will certainly not be the last word on the subject. But as policymakers both in the United States and abroad continue to refine privacy laws and regulations in the coming years, they should consider who exactly it is they are trying to protect.

In this case, it is hard to see how rules designed to protect people like Donald Sterling, Anthony Weiner and Mel Gibson serve the common good. Since privacy laws almost always involve a trade-off between different values, policymakers should be aware what they are giving up when they make these decisions and strive to find a more balanced approach.

[Castro is a senior policy analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation]