Recently, the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF) concluded the judgment on an extremely important issue in our sociate today: the so-called “right to be forgotten”. Seeking to prohibit the disclosure or exposure of certain information about people or past events, it is an institute that exists in European law, but not expressly provided for in our legal system.

The relevance of the theme lies in the need to weigh up some of the most valuable rights to our constitutional system: on the one hand, the right to freedom of speech and information; on the other, the right to honour, intimacy, privacy and dignity of the human person.

In the specific case (Extraordinary Appeal No. 1010606), with general repercussion, it was decided by a majority of votes, after four sessions of debates, that the right to be forgotten is incompatible with the Federal Constitution and, therefore, as a rule, should not be applied in Brazil. However, the Court noted in its decision that any excesses or abuses in the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and information must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

 

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