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30 Berkeley J. Int'l L. 161 (2012)
The Right to Be Forgotten: Reconciling EU and US Perspectives

handle is hein.journals/berkjintlw30 and id is 163 raw text is: The Right to Be Forgotten: Reconciling EU and US Perspectives By Steven C. Bennett* Recent developments in the European Union (EU) have highlighted the po- tential for the development of a right to be forgotten. For United States (US) companies, especially those operating on the Internet, the development and en- forcement of such a right could prove to be quite problematic. This Article out- lines the practical implications of such a right, pointing the way toward possibil- ities for reconciliation of US and EU views on the application of a right to be forgotten. I. RECENT EU DEVELOPMENTS Viviane Reding was recently accepted to a position as European Commis- sioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. She previously served as Commissioner for Information Society and Media. In those roles, she has served as an important spokesperson and advocate for the development of EU privacy protection.1 At an American Chamber of Commerce gathering in June 2010, Reding suggested that her paramount goal in her new position is to ensure that people have a high level of protection and control over their personal infor- * The Author is a partner at Jones Day in New York and teaches Conflicts of Law at Hofstra Law School. The views expressed are solely those of the author and should not be attributed to the au- thor's firm or its clients. 1. See Peter Hustinx, The Strategic Context and the Role of Data Protection Authorities in the Debate on the Future of Privacy, Apr. 29, 2010 (EU Data Protection Supervisor notes that Reding has made data protection her top priority), available at http://www.edps.europa.eu/EDPSWEB/webdav/shared/Documents/EDPS/Publications/Speeches/20 10/10-04-29_SpeechFuture PricacyEN.pdf; see also Q&A: Viviane Reding, Mar. 27, 2006 (inter- view, summarizing Reding's background and interests), available at http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/5302. Reding is well known for brokering a deal with various social networking providers to adopt Safer Social Networking Principles for their operations in the EU. See Felix Hofer, Privacy Issues in Social Networking: The European Perspective, Mar. 21, 2010, available at http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=95756.