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Journal of Business Ethics
Published in: Journal of Business Ethics 1/2022

01-02-2021 | Original Paper

Could You Ever Forget Me? Why People Want to be Forgotten Online

Authors: Chanhee Kwak, Junyeong Lee, Heeseok Lee

Published in: Journal of Business Ethics | Issue 1/2022

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Abstract

The concept of people’s memory maintains the finiteness of time and capacity. However, with the advancement in technology, the amount of storage memory a person can use has increased dramatically. Given that digital traces can hardly be erased or forgotten, individuals have begun to express their desire to be forgotten in the digital world, and governments and academia are considering methods to fulfill such wishes. Capturing the difficulties in terms of a cultural lag between technological advancements and regulations on individuals’ data privacy needs, we identify six motives for individuals wishing to be forgotten online and investigate its expected effects on online content generation through a qualitative content analysis of 222 responses from open-ended surveys in Korea. Our findings provide implications for the literature on individual privacy and the right to be forgotten employing the cultural lag, as well as, elaborate further on the relationship between being forgotten online and the legitimacy of such requests of individuals. Additionally, implications for data providers, data controllers/processors, and governments to address this lag and build a balanced system of personal information are provided.
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Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Could You Ever Forget Me? Why People Want to be Forgotten Online
Authors
Chanhee Kwak
Junyeong Lee
Heeseok Lee
Publication date
01-02-2021
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Journal of Business Ethics / Issue 1/2022
Print ISSN: 0167-4544
Electronic ISSN: 1573-0697
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04747-x

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