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Cleveland.com’s ‘right to be forgotten’ removes names from some crime stories

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Re: Cleveland.com’s ‘right to be forgotten’ removes names from some crime stories

#71

Post by smrq »

jawns wrote: post #53

Former news editor here. Perhaps the biggest danger in this and other similar policies is not how it is applied today -- removing the names of people accused of minor crimes that have had their records expunged seems like a compassionate policy, given the effects it can have on things like employment prospects -- but in how it may be applied in the future. The idea that a newspaper archive is a collection of living d…

Paranoid response: if such a versioning ledger were to exist, how could you trust it? The feasibility problem still remains (it is feasible to alter archives that were formerly infeasible) and you now rely on trust that (1) all alterations are accompanied by a versioning notice, and (2) the summary presented in the notice is accurate and complete.

Re: Cleveland.com’s ‘right to be forgotten’ removes names from some crime stories

#72

Post by whycombinater »

jawns wrote: post #53

Former news editor here. Perhaps the biggest danger in this and other similar policies is not how it is applied today -- removing the names of people accused of minor crimes that have had their records expunged seems like a compassionate policy, given the effects it can have on things like employment prospects -- but in how it may be applied in the future. The idea that a newspaper archive is a collection of living d…

Upvoted one thousand nine hundred eighty four times.

Re: Cleveland.com’s ‘right to be forgotten’ removes names from some crime stories

#73

Post by [deleted] »

cortesoft wrote: post #21
mc32 wrote: post #7

I’d like to see a codified system where elsctronic docs and records must have timestamps and certain kinds of content must get “forgotten” de-indexed, over time. Midemeanor mentions get de-indexed afer x-years, felonies y-years, murders and the sort, never. Obviously this would require refinement. That said, someone could resurrect one of these records and reset the clock, but being derivative, the click would have t…

Not even sure how draconian enforcement would work, unless you forced every country to do the same. I could just set up a service that makes a copy of every document/record that is set to be deleted, and host it in a country that doesn't have that rule.

[deleted]

Re: Cleveland.com’s ‘right to be forgotten’ removes names from some crime stories

#74

Post by [deleted] »

coding123 wrote: post #47
piker wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not your right to dispense such justice--that in fact belongs to the state in a civilized society. I think this example proves the exact opposite of what you desire. Someone who has spent time in jail and had their record expunged 10 years later has been deemed by the state to have satisfied the burden of their offense, and, yes, their right to have their actions forgiven and forgotten should be at its zenith. […

That downvote with no comment thing is because they are trying to practice THEIR right to be forgotten.

[deleted]

Re: Cleveland.com’s ‘right to be forgotten’ removes names from some crime stories

#75

Post by danso »

justin66 wrote: post #34

This is not the strangest self-censorship cleveland.com has engaged in. The strangest I'm aware of is publishing otherwise full physical descriptions of wanted criminal suspects while omitting their race.

Do you have examples? Many media outlets have a policy of not including race unless there are n (usually 5-7) other physical descriptors.

Re: Cleveland.com’s ‘right to be forgotten’ removes names from some crime stories

#76

Post by dsfyu404ed »

smrq wrote: post #71
jawns wrote: post #53

Former news editor here. Perhaps the biggest danger in this and other similar policies is not how it is applied today -- removing the names of people accused of minor crimes that have had their records expunged seems like a compassionate policy, given the effects it can have on things like employment prospects -- but in how it may be applied in the future. The idea that a newspaper archive is a collection of living d…

Paranoid response: if such a versioning ledger were to exist, how could you trust it? The feasibility problem still remains (it is feasible to alter archives that were formerly infeasible) and you now rely on trust that (1) all alterations are accompanied by a versioning notice, and (2) the summary presented in the notice is accurate and complete.

>Paranoid response: if such a versioning ledger were to exist, how could you trust it?

Blockchain to the rescue (for real this time, I think, I'm not an expert or a blockchain fanboy). A publicly ledger that anyone can verify hasn't been tampered with is the whole point.

Re: Cleveland.com’s ‘right to be forgotten’ removes names from some crime stories

#77

Post by cribbles »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #76
smrq wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paranoid response: if such a versioning ledger were to exist, how could you trust it? The feasibility problem still remains (it is feasible to alter archives that were formerly infeasible) and you now rely on trust that (1) all alterations are accompanied by a versioning notice, and (2) the summary presented in the notice is accurate and complete.

>Paranoid response: if such a versioning ledger were to exist, how could you trust it? Blockchain to the rescue (for real this time, I think, I'm not an expert or a blockchain fanboy). A publicly ledger that anyone can verify hasn't been tampered with is the whole point.

Why not just provide a hash for each version of the document?

Re: Cleveland.com’s ‘right to be forgotten’ removes names from some crime stories

#78

Post by paxys »

cronix wrote: post #40
pc86 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but a news article saying you were arrested for something still happened, and is still factual.

The problem is you can legally say you were never convicted of that crime if it's expunged. If a background check is performed, it will not show up on your record, which will be contradictory if it's still in a newspaper article (or some other public source). It's a catch-22. An employer cannot legally use it against you. If they see it in print they can discriminate (illegally, but who would know) against you. If yo…

You don't see a problem that the government is infringing on my right to post literal facts online?

Re: Cleveland.com’s ‘right to be forgotten’ removes names from some crime stories

#79

Post by BeetleB »

794CD01 wrote: post #5
nimbius wrote: post #3

this is important in the united states, as the criminal justice system is often used as a blacklist. Once convicted of a DUI or drug possession, this criminal record can be used to bar employment, rescind voting rights, and legally practice housing discrimination. American criminal justice is often a precursor for lasting biblical retribution. For example, sex offenders are often branded with scarlet letter for life…

Your criticism is based on a fundamental misunderstanding. The US prison system is not intended to rehabilitate anyone, and does not do so. Usually, criminals are even worse when they are released due to the time they've spent with other hardened criminals, being abused, forming criminal connections, and learning how to do crime more effectively. As a result, it's perfectly rational to track those people and be wary…

>Your criticism is based on a fundamental misunderstanding. The US prison system is not intended to rehabilitate anyone,

Depends on your definition of rehabilitate. From the Bureau of Prisons web site:

>We protect public safety by ensuring that federal offenders serve their sentences of imprisonment in facilities that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and appropriately secure, and provide reentry programming to ensure their successful return to the community

>As a result, it's perfectly rational to track those people and be wary of them.

If you agree with the premise that jails are making criminals even worse, the more rational answer would be not to send them there to begin with, right? After all, if you put people in jail and release them, you are making society worse off.

It would be more rational to keep them in prison forever.

I think the most rational approach, though, is to fix the prison system and provide proper rehabilitation. Accepting that we incarcerate people, and release them in a way that makes the public unsafe, is a poor option.

>but treating the system as transactional in the sense that you break the balance by committing a crime then pay it back through slave work in jail is perhaps one of the few ways to make the system even more dysfunctional than it already is.

This is a strawman - no one here is suggesting slave work, or even any work, in jail as a measure of rehabilitation.

Re: Cleveland.com’s ‘right to be forgotten’ removes names from some crime stories

#80

Post by BeetleB »

thefreeman wrote: post #14
Forbo wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The evidence suggests otherwise. Sex crimes researchers R. Karl Hanson and Kelly E. Morton-Bourgon of Public Safety Canada conducted a large-scale meta-analysis (quantitative review) of recidivism rates among adult sex offenders. They found a rate of 14 percent over a period averaging five to six years. Recidivism rates increased over time, reaching 24 percent by 15 years. The figures are clearly out of alignment wi…

Sorry but 25% of offenders committing another sex crime in the next 15 years more then enough for me to agree with the fact that they need to be identified and tracked.

>Sorry but treating the system as transactional in the sense that you break the balance by committing a crime then pay it back through slave work in jail is perhaps one of the few ways to make the system even more dysfunctional than it already is.

Sorry, but it isn't enough for me.

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