The right to be forgotten concerning the criminal past: Developments in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights with particular reference to the anonymisation of digital press archives

Abstract

Do offenders have a right “to be forgotten”? What is the content of this right, and against whom can it be exercised? These questions have become more pressing with the irruption of new information and communication technologies, which entail a new risk of perpetuating a virtual criminal record. The growing role of the digital archives of the press has led some jurisdictions to adopt different measures to anonymise or de-reference personal data. The Strasbourg Court, historically reluctant to accept any interference with the initial publication of personal data concerning convicted offenders, has recently dealt with the compatibility of different measures involving the anonymisation or de-indexing of news articles in the digital archives. This contribution describes these recent legal developments, focusing on the criteria developed by Strasbourg to assess the legitimacy of anonymisation measures adopted by States in response to right-to-be-forgotten requests against the media.