Clearing the Past

The ruling, which cannot be appealed, highlights how seriously the E.U. asserts a right to privacy for individuals. Because the U.S. does not have a right to privacy written into its constitution, privacy experts claim that U.S. citizens and journalists are not likely to see a "right to be forgotten" in the near future. Based on the legislative history of the E.U. regarding privacy issues, Bennett said he was not surprised by the ruling, but he thought it was a little odd that the court interpreted an existing directive to define the right to be forgotten, rather than creating it as part of a new directive. Because the incident leading to the ruling occurred entirely within E.U. boundaries, the Court of Justice was able to pass its interpretation relatively smoothly, Bennett said.