Right to be forgotten for European social networks users

Social network users in Europe will be pleased to know that the European Union (EU) will be enshrining a “right to be forgotten online“, making sure that prospective employers are unable to check out previously uploaded Facebook photos of a user who is in a compromising situation that might affect the outcome of a particular job interview. EU justice commissioner, Viviane Reding, mentioned in a speech to the European parliament, that “a US-based social network company that has millions of active users in Europe needs to comply with EU rules.” This means that high standards of data privacy in the default setting is mandatory, as well as providing the user more control over the type of data displayed. We would want to chip in our two cents’ worth into the entire situation – in the first place, if you’re uncomfortable with what you upload should others stumble upon it – don’t. That’s the best rule of thumb to avoid any regrets down the road…