The Right To Be Forgotten and Data Protection in Ghana: Implications for the Practice of Digital Journalism

Abstract (250 Word Limit)

The central object of the ‘right to be forgotten’ is the right of an individual data subject to have personal information de-referenced or de-listed from the internet search results or other databases. Two contesting rights are at stake within the context of this paper; the right to privacy of the data subject, which focuses on the right of an individual in respect of the processing of personal data, and the right to freedom of expression of the digital journalist in the publication of information by way of news for the consumption of the general public, the latter of which connotes the right of the public to know. The question of where to draw the line between these contesting rights, the role that the data protection regime in Ghana plays, and implications for the practice of digital journalism are the concerns of this paper. The paper concludes that even though the right to be forgotten is generally supported by the data protection regime in Ghana, albeit implicitly, there is a need for a more pronounced reflection of concerns of technology in the legal regime to aid the balancing of rights between privacy and freedom of expression.