Extract from Isha Marathe’s article “‘Right to Delete’ Laws Have Some in E-Discovery Worried, but Remedies Remain”
As firms and legal departments get their compliance plans in order ahead of four U.S. state consumer data privacy laws going into effect in 2023, the subject of what the litigation implications will be after the fact is gaining traction in e-discovery circles.
E-discovery professionals are watching one consumer right in particular, common in all four legislations, albeit under different scopes: “the right to delete,” which gives an individual the right to request that a business delete their personal data. While some attorneys think the right will have no impact on e-discovery whatsoever, others worry that it could complicate e-discovery and data management processes.
Regardless, opinions from both camps caution that vigilance regarding this particular right is imperative for anyone in the e-discovery realm.
Mary Mack, CEO of Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM), pointed out that e-discovery professionals have had privacy on their minds “even before the GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] came out in the EU [European Union],” but that the upcoming deadlines are creating additional awareness.
