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their cost and effectiveness. As detailed planning proceeds, privacy requirements
can be made more concrete and specific privacy enhancing technologies can be
selected, such as encryption tools and access control schemes.
During the development phase, attention must be paid to the correct implementa-
tion of all privacy protecting mechanisms. It is also essential to examine whether
implementation and application context issues raise further privacy requirements
that may have not been considered at earlier stages. At the deployment stage one
may consider applying audits and change control procedures to ensure that privacy
protection meets the requirements. Even after their use has stopped, ICTs can still
raise privacy issues, such as the disposition of storage means containing personal
information.
However, there are still several issues that need to be clarified, as this new con-
cept has started to gain acceptance among researchers, practitioners and deci-
sional bodies. For instance, the methodological approach that will enable its
seamless integration into technological artifacts, the evaluation of its cost and
effectiveness as well as its impacts and implications for individuals, systems and
organizations are open to discussion.
4. From here to eternity and the right to be forgotten
Technological developments in general and the tremendous growth of their use
in all human activities have shown the necessity to enrich the fundamental data
protection principles with specific rights. The consent of the data subject
14
re-
mains a cornerstone of the European data protection structure and architecture,
but –apparently - it has to be adapted to the requirements of the online environ-
ment, without however being reduced to a “just click submit” automatism. Of
crucial importance for preserving the individuals’ rights especially in the Web
seems to be the introduction of an
expressis verbis
“right to be forgotten” in the
information era of “no oblivion”.
Over the last years this right
15
has raised increasing attention and concern
16
. The
14. See DPWP Opinion 15/2011 on the definition of consent.
15. This right seems to have its origin in French law, which provides a “right to oblivion” (le
droit à l’oubli) and Italian Law (diritto al’ oblio). It was mainly and primarily the right of a
convicted criminal who has served her sentence not to be confronted with information con-
cerning her criminal and object to this publication. The right to oblivion is tied to privacy and
the ability to escape the past and consequently the possibility of being reintegrate into society
“free fromhaving past criminality taint [her] reputation”
(SeeWalker, p. 27).
16. The term “right to be forgotten” has been created quite recently. However the - similar but
not identical - “right to forget,” which refers to the already intensively reflected situation
