The Right to Be Forgotten: Exploring Consumer Privacy Attitudes About the Final Stage of the Information Life Cycle

Abstract

Until now, privacy research has neglected the last stage of the information life cycle: deletion. Concern about secure deletion of information, however, is growing, particularly with regard to information posted in social networking sites. Stories about how such information can harm careers have led to discussion of a “right to be forgotten” (RTBF). We survey consumers to understand their attitudes about this proposed RTBF and find that it is distinct from previously validated first-order privacy constructs. We also find that digital natives and digital immigrants have different attitudes about the RTBF. Our results have important implications for both research and practice.

Keywords: Internet privacy concerns, information privacy concerns, online privacy, right to be forgotten, consumer attitudes