Right2Remove’s mission and principles

What the Right2Remove IS:

1) The Right2Remove advocates for legislation that allows for the removal of content from Internet platforms that is designed to cause harm to consumers in the United States. The Right to Remove privacy policy focuses on specific categories of sensitive personal information that should be removed to preserve individuals’ dignity and security, such as: information about victims of abuse, threats, exploitation, slander, stigmatization, identity theft, and leaks of personal data. See the full list of specific categories of sensitive information included in the Right to Remove privacy policy below.

2) The Right2Remove advocates for widespread application of consumer reporting laws, specifically the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), to data aggregators, search engines, social media, and Internet platforms engaged in misinformation.

3) The Right2Remove advocates for the amendment of CDA 230, so victims of web-based consumer protection violations can hold search engines and platforms responsible for the dissemination of illicit, harmful, and misleading content.

4) The Right2Remove advocates for the establishment of an independent review panel for adjudicating consumer protection violations on the Internet. Neither the FTC nor Google (or any other search engine) are impartial parties, being guided respectively by lobbies and private interest.

5) The Right2Remove advocates for the regulation of the advertising-based monetary model utilized by search engines and social media platforms, which manipulate the significance of online information and its contexts.

6) The Right2Remove advocates for a data privacy law that adapts Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation for use in the United States. Such a law should include:  clear opt-in and opt-out options for data collection; access to all personal data collected; ability to correct inaccurate information, and to erase outdated or unlawful material; the right to object to processing of data for marketing purposes and to restrict the processing of personal data; capacity for data portability; and the capability to request data be processed by natural persons instead of computers.

7) The Right2Remove advocates for the establishment of an independent review panel that monitors data aggregators, search engines, and web platforms’ data handling practices and audits them on a continual and ongoing basis.

8) The Right2Remove advocates for the establishment of an independent review panel tasked with oversight and creation of a transparent framework for disclosing tech companies’ trade secrets, algorithms, aggregation methods, and, rating and editing practices.

9) The Right2Remove advocates for legislation that protects all criminal justice information on the Internet—criminal records, mugshots, and court dockets — from data aggregators. The Right2Remove advocates for removal of information from all public archives about arrests in which the defendant was determined not-guilty or the case was dismissed.
 

What the Right2Remove is NOT:

1) The Right2Remove does not advocate for the removal of information from individual websites and online archives that is not misleading, harmful, or damaging to consumers.

2) The Right2Remove does not advocate for the elimination of background checks. Background checks that adhere to consumer protection laws, such as the FCRA, should continue protect our communities, workplaces, and schools.

3) The Right2Remove does not advocate for the censorship of non-public figures in the public commons. Citizens engaged in civil or uncivil dialogue on the Internet should not be censored so long as their speech doesn’t infringe upon consumer protection laws or overstep into traditional speech torts, such as slander, harassment, hate speech, or discrimination.

4) The Right2Remove does not advocate for the censorship of newspapers or broadcast news media. However, we believe archived collections of data on consumers, such as the data currently compiled by search engines, should not be indexed on the Internet, if it should produce discrimination, harassment, and stigmatization.

5) The Right2Remove does not advocate for the removal of sensitive information about public figures, government entities, private corporations, or anything in the public interest.

6) Although we support their reform initiatives, the Right2Remove does not advocate for the injudicious removal of sensitive information about sex offenders from the Internet. We recognize reform as the only means by which reincorporation into the community can possibly occur. We recognize sex crimes occur on a spectrum. We believe these two premises should drive reconsideration of questions such as who belongs on sex offenders registries and for how long.





The Right2Remove Organization

The Right2Remove is run by activists for Internet privacy and civil rights.

Director: Paolo Cirio
Researcher: Scott Philotoff

Advisory board:
- Sarah Esther Lageson
- Dan Shefet

Partners:

Association for Accountability and Internet Democracy
.
Organizational Status disclosure: currently the Right2Remove is an independent and informal organization, it never received any funding from any company or institution. It has been mainly run by volunteers. Please consider to donate via PayPal.

Archive Press Releases:
4th PR, February 2020 [html] [pdf]; 3rd PR, February 2019 [html] [pdf];
2nd PR, October 2018 [html] [pdf];
1st PR, June 2018 [pdf].

- The Right2Remove recap text Critique on Systems of Justice over the Internet about the Right to Be Forgotten and Free Speach, 2018.
- The Right2Remove guide for Reputation Management, 2018.

Archive Press Coverage:
- Interview on Al Jazeera TV Stream - U.S., 2019
- Interview on Team Human Podcast, U.S., 2018
- Interview on the Guardian, U.S., 2018
- Interview WHDT TV, U.S., 2016

Press Material:
- Press kit with high-res images
- YouTube videos playlist
- Twitter news feed





Endorsements for the Right to Remove Privacy Policy

The Right to Remove is supported by Internet rights activists and organizations, privacy lawyers and law firms, consumers rights organizations and legislators.

From The Guardian
"The activist Paolo Cirio, who launched a campaign group called Right2Remove, wants Google to either de-index the mugshot websites or massively down-rank them in search results – offering Americans a similar right to those in Europe, where there is a regulation granting the Right to be Forgotten”. – The Guardian article, June 12, 2018.
From Dan Shefet, President of AAID
"As form of Right to be Forgotten, the Right to Remove is a Human Right. It is the necessary corollary to free speech. It is the application of the right to rehabilitation and reintegration deeply entrenched in laws and ethics worldwide in recognition of the “Human Condition”. If we cannot allow ourselves to make “mistakes” (a highly subjective test) our personal development, expression of controversial views, artistic creativity and “the right to be different” will cease to exist. I wonder what our civilization would have been like had the extent of unforgiving reputational harm we face today been around at the dawn of mankind." – Dan Shefet, Lawyer at the Paris Court of Appeal (France). In 2014 he founded the Association for Accountability and Internet Democracy (AAID)
From Justin Meehan, Attorney at Law
"The Right2Remove’s mission is to apply consumer reporting laws that allow for the removal of harmful, embarrassing and exploitative content to the internet, and it is beyond a noble cause—it is a timely, invaluable one. Mugshot operators are bottom feeders in a cesspool; they hide in the mud pits they belong in. They kidnap people’s reputations and besmirch them for the rest of their lives. The Right2Remove network provided us with the resources necessary to take down one such operator who was destroying lives in St. Louis. Although a lot has been said about the right-to-be-forgotten conflicting with the First Amendment, there hasn’t been much discussion about search engines, like Google, aggregating and disseminating sensitive information about people on the internet. The time has come for us to provide a check on the powers of these tech monopolies. We must let them know that “We the People” will not accept the premise that extortionists, defamers and data aggregators deserve the same free-speech protections allotted to the lawful members of our citizenry. The Right2Remove isn’t just another criminal justice or privacy group; they are visionaries and ploughmen sowing a more humane and just mentality for our brave new world." – J. Justin Meehan, Attorney at Law

Contacts, Support, and Press for the Right to Remove

Contact email

Write us for support if anything is unclear or for anything you need. Tell us how you would like to participate. Or if you have any helpful ideas for our campaign!

Email

Send an Inquiry

Submit questions, concerns, and ideas with a form. For journalists and media outlets: ask us for an interview with the organizers, lawyers, and affected individuals.

Inquiry

Press Material

Find the press material and kit with images and videos. On Dropbox you can find media material in high definition for press coverage or to promote the campaign.

Download

Get involved with the Right to Remove campaign

Sign the Petition

For a simple and workable federal bill to be introduced to Congress and enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. Via Change.org you can sign the petition and follow its development.

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Join the Campaign

For Volunteers, Organizations, Activists, Lawyers, and Affected Individuals: join the friendly group behind the campaign across the country. Via Mobilize.io you can participate in dedicated groups.

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Donate

For boosting the campaign any little donation can help. Right to Remove is an independent and informal group run by volunteers. Via PayPal.com you can donate any amount toward the campaign.

Stay informed on the Right to Remove and related news

Newsletter

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Twitter

Follow us to know news, tools, and legal developments with the hashtag #R2R

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Youtube

Watch videos concerning the campaign including press clips and documentaries.

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