Your right to erasure

The right to erasure is a right to request that your personal data is deleted.

It is also known as the right to be forgotten.

The reason to request erasure might be that:

• the basis for collecting or using it is no longer valid
• it was unlawfully collected or used (in breach of the GDPR)
• it needs to be erased to comply with a legal obligation
• it relates to someone who was under 18 years of age when it was collected or used

The data does not have to cause damage or distress for you to request that it is deleted.

There are also situations where the organisation has the right to use the information, and a request for deletion does not need to be followed up. Those are in cases where the organisation:

• is exercising the right of freedom of expression
• has a legal obligation in order to carry out a task in the public interest or to exercise of official authority
• is using the information for public health purposes in the public interest
• needs the information to exercise or defend a legal claim
• is archiving the information for the public interest, for scientific or historical research, or for statistical purposes

If you request that you data is deleted, then the organisation must also inform other third parties with which it has shared that data, unless doing so is impossible or is unlikely to be effective.