The right to be forgotten – an analysis of precedents and legal development in Brazil and its suitability in face of curr ent overexposure situations

Abstract

This paper outlines an overview of the right to be forgotten in the Brazilian legal system, focusing on recent controversies, which involve cases of data distribution on the Internet and its indexation by searching mechanisms. This paper is based on the historical-analytical and comparative methods, and analyzes the origin of the right to be forgotten in courts worldwide, as well as its development, before the digital age. The paper advocates that the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice has evolved in terms of evaluating the right to be forgotten in face of the internet. The paper also seeks to analyze the impacts on the matter due to the enactment of the Brazilian Internet Law and the General Data Protection Act, in order to provide for a change of law that would get along with personality rights and the right to information.