How many of us, at some point in our lives, have wished for a do-over, a clean slate, a fresh start?  In the final electrifying installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, the film introduces the Clean Slate Software Program, a program that wipes out all information of an individual from every computer in the world.  While not pivotal to the plot line, the idea of a clean slate program does raise some unique legal, ethical, and moral issues. In the Dark Knight Rises, Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, seeks to acquire the program developed by Rykin Data to gain a second chance in life, away from the discrimination of others for her past crimes.  Proponents for the fictional clean slate program would argue that the program would strengthen individual privacy.  Since the information is about the individual, that individual should be allowed to do with it as he pleases, even if he wishes to delete any trace of his existence.  And why shouldn’t ex-criminals who have “paid their debt to society” be allowed to live a normal life without the stigma of their past indiscretions?

Dark Side of a Clean Slate Machine

On the other hand, such a program could put the safety of others at risk. For example, if the antagonist of the film, Bane, were to have used the program to wipe out all his past crimes and then applied for a job in the R&D department of Wayne Enterprises, he could be privy to an arsenal of weapons and technology. And what happens if the clean slate program were to be used to delete someone else’s identity, say for example, Bruce Wayne’s identity.  Where would the world be without Batman? The clean slate program would also affect the property rights of those who collect information about others.  Allowing that information to be wiped clean would deprive the information owners of valuable property rights and the fruit of their labor. However, these questions and the balancing act between privacy rights, public safety, and property rights in information may never need to be answered.

Is the Right to be Forgotten a New Clean Slate Machine?

"Clean Slate" was the Subject of a Trademark Infringement Action

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