What's posted to the Internet stays on the Internet--or does it?

• Position: PRIVACY - Brief article

The European Parliament passed new online privacy rules in March that could shorten the Internet's memory, so to speak. One of the measures, the so-called "right-to-be-forgotten" rule, would allow consumers to request that companies delete selective data from their systems. If they have no legitimate grounds for keeping the data, the companies would have to comply.

While this is an idea that seems to be growing in popularity (as evidenced by the growing popularity of apps like Snapchat, whose messages automatically disappear within a few seconds), particularly in Europe, it has some in the technology world concerned. They fear...