Iowa lawmaker proposes draft state legislation on right to be forgotten

Zach Nunn, a state senator from Iowa, has proposed a legislation to introduce a right to be forgotten in Iowa’ state law. Known as the ‘right to be forgotten act’, this file would grant individuals the right to request from search engines the removal of information of ‘minimal value’. Content of minimal value is defined in the draft legislation as information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, inadequate or excessive. This includes “information which, after a significant lapse in time from its first publication, is no longer material to current public debate or discourse, especially when considered in light of the demonstrable harm the information is causing or may cause to an individual’s professional, financial, reputational, or other interest. However, ‘content of minimal value’, does not include information related to criminal conviction, litigation relating to a violent crime, or a matter that is of significant current public interest”.