The Right to be Forgotten
We have been doing informal research on how people's lives can be adversely affected by the long memory of the Internet. Many people have posted things to social media or done things in real life that may come back to haunt them later - often many years later. Web search engines can find material on the Internet that is years old and doesn't reflect a person's current life, but yet these search results can continue to shape that person's on-line persona. This can affect both a person's work life and personal life.
The European Union has developed the " Right to be Forgotten " on the Internet. This right allows a person to request that Internet search engines not index certain old material about them. Since this policy has been enacted, there have been more than half a million requests made to Google to remove specific Web pages from their search results.
While a 'right to be forgotten' makes sense, it can't be implemented in the United States because of our First Amendment right to freedom of the press. However, it may be possible to persuade search engines such as Google to give less weight to older results in searches for a person's name. This would be a compromise that would cause search results to favor more recent personal events or achievements while still keeping older material in search results. This would help many people by keeping older material from dominating their on-line profiles.
One local example of a person whose on-line profile is dominated by old stories is Nate Heatwole . His on-line profile continues to emphasize a 2003 incident despite considerable academic and professional achievement since that time. For example, the links below connect to positive material about Nate Heatwole that is buried in the search results.
Please let us know about other examples of people who may continue to be adversely affected by out-of-date search results.
Academic Papers and Activities
Cost-Effectiveness of Vehicle Barriers and Setback Distance
Model for Estimating Property Damage from U.S. Earthquakes
Economic Consequence Analysis of Disasters (1)
Economic Consequence Analysis of Disasters (2)
Economic Consequence Analysis of Disasters (3)
ECAT Tool (Co-author)
Economic Benefits of CBP Centers of Excellence and Expertise
Economic Impacts of Changes in Wait Times at U.S. Ports of Entry
Economic Consequences of Terrorism (1)
Economic Consequences of Terrorism (2)
Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (USC)
USC Academia Profile
ResearchGate Profile
Terrorism-Related Policy Analysis
Modeling the Economic Cost of Non-fatal Injuries
Economic Consequences of Terrorism
Tool for Estimating Earthquake Damage
Impact of Customs, Border Protection Inspections on US Economy
Analysis and Improvement of Tornado Damage Modeling
Software Tool for Damage Analysis
Amateur Radio
Foundation for Amateur Radio Announces 2008 Scholarship Winners
2009 FAR Scholarship Award Winners
Potomac Valley Radio Club
Twitter