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I used to see the 'Right to be Forgotten' notifications from Google for a UK national newspaper.

Almost every one was for a story where someone had been convicted of a crime, or professional misconduct and so wanted the story removed from Google's index to make it harder to find their misdeeds

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> someone had been convicted of a crime

The issue isn't that people who commit crimes can hide their past, but that "corrections" facilities to not rehabilitate criminals into law-abiding members of society.

Having a criminal past follow someone for their entire life is a surefire way to make sure they can't find legal ways of making money.

The part that really bugs is when some privileged criminal goes through all the trouble of white washing their online presence only to commit more crimes. Shouldn’t that be an aggravating factor during sentencing to prove premeditation?

In accordance with prophecy, sadly. People really don't realise to what degree deletion (or rather de-ranking) is a tool of the powerful, not a boon for the weak.

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