The "right to be forgotten" is always going to be fraught. We are talking of a balance between competing rights of freedom of speech and privacy, and usually su

The "right to be forgotten" is always going to be fraught. We are talking of a balance between competing rights of freedom of speech and privacy, and usually such finely balanced decisions are what the judicial system is for. But large platforms like Google and Facebook have become like "countries" in themselves. People are earning their livelihoods, finding their friends and loved ones, even committing crimes using these platforms. I think these companies are being forced to build due process procedures so people have recourse, not just for right to be forgotten, but also for other cases. And this is being compounded by the use of AI algorithms which work in mysterious ways even to their creators - an impersonal algorithm making decisions which may destroy someone's life, or make someone a millionaire. I wonder for example if the recent youtube attack could have been avoided if the shooter had an independent forum where she could ask for explanation and perhaps challenge the change in the ads policy which hurt her livelihood. Nothing justifies violence, but we can learn lessons for the future. We normally do not ask corporations to do such things, but for these mega-internet giants maybe the normal rules are not enough. Perhaps as a start, these companies should setup an ombudsman who can be approached when normal corporate avenues fail.