The topic of the right to digital footprints to be forgotten during our class discussion caught my attention. You may be wondering, ‘What is the right to be forgotten?’
- It is a concept that allows people to request that organizations remove and delete specific personal information about them from online platforms. (World Economic Forum)
Canadian Guidelines
I first started by looking for the guidelines in Canada around this topic and here is what I have found: “The court determined an exemption for journalistic or artistic work does not cover Google searches, meaning Canadians have the right to request their names be unsearchable, known as the ‘right to be forgotten’.” There is no explicit right to erase personal data in Canada.
With this information, I feel like parents need to educate their children on Internet safety as well as being careful about what they post. The things you post as a child can come back to haunt you in your professional career as an adult.
Personal Story
I know from experience that employers will go and check out your profile on Facebook or even search your name on the internet to see what comes up. My boss at a restaurant that I work at told me after I got hired that she checked out my Facebook profile to see if there were any red flags for her on there.
My Opinion
I believe that we should forgive your digital footprint until you reach the age of 18. Once you turn 19 you start over and you are now an adult. When you are a child you don’t think about what you say on the internet can affect your life as an adult. Once they become adults, some people are haunted by what they posted as children. I know personally I posted some interesting stuff when I was a child. Nothing too terrible, mostly just embarrassing things as well as some personal stuff.
Some Resources
- Educational Games
- Thumbs Down Speak Up
- Social Media Dangerous Documentary
- Social Networks Made for Children
- A Lesson Plan to teach children the importance of online safety: Your Digital Footprint and Digital Imprint.