Erasing the Past: Assessing the Feasibility of the ‘Right to be Forgotten’ in Safeguarding Child Anonymity in India

In contemporary age of digitalisation, where childhood unfolds as much on the internet as in the physical world, the lasting nature of online information creates serious risks for the privacy and future opportunities of minors in India. The researcher, through this paper, critically evaluates the potential of the ‘Right to be Forgotten’ (RTBF) as a legal framework for safeguarding children’s anonymity amid their expanding digital footprints. The paper opens by emphasizing the heightened risks children face online, such as cyberbullying and damage to reputation, which are exacerbated by the enduring nature of internet content. It then situates the constitutional foundation of the Right to be Forgotten (RTBF) in the landmark Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India decision, where informational privacy was affirmed as a fundamental right. However, the paper highlights that in India, the RTBF remains both legally uncertain and inadequately addressed in legislation. An analysis of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), reveals significant limitations: although the law introduces safeguards for children, it fails to recognize a broader right to erase data collected during childhood-an essential safeguard guaranteed under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This omission becomes especially apparent when compared with India’s strong anonymity protections under criminal justice laws like the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and the POCSO Act, 2012, exposing inconsistencies in the country’s child protection framework. The paper ultimately argues that while RTBF carries important conceptual value, it is not yet a reliable tool for protecting child anonymity in India. To bridge this gap, it calls for a comprehensive approach that includes targeted revisions to the DPDP Act, the development of a child-sensitive judicial framework by the Supreme Court, and the integration of technological and educational interventions-ensuring that children in India are genuinely granted a “right to a second chance.”