{"id":7302,"date":"2026-01-09T13:01:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T13:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prisonersadvice.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=7302"},"modified":"2026-01-09T13:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T13:01:10","slug":"report-explores-the-right-to-be-forgotten-in-the-digital-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prisonersadvice.org.uk\/wordpress\/2026\/01\/09\/report-explores-the-right-to-be-forgotten-in-the-digital-age\/","title":{"rendered":"REPORT EXPLORES THE RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN IN THE DIGITAL AGE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A new report published by Unlock, examines how today&#8217;s digital age has undermined the promise of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) and sets out reforms needed to protect the right to move on from a criminal record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It explains how the ROA was designed for an analogue world in which criminal record information was accessed only through formal channels and with the individual\u2019s knowledge and consent. Today, however, online news archives, search engines, social<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>media and rogue \u201cnaming and shaming\u201d sites mean that criminal records \u2013 including spent convictions \u2013 can remain searchable indefinitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent policy developments heighten concern. The Sentencing Bill 2025 proposal to allow probation to publish names and photographs of people on community orders online formalises \u201cnaming and shaming\u201d and risks creating yet another layer of digital permanence. Advances in AI, including facial recognition and automated data scraping, further threaten the effectiveness of traditional protections such as name changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In response, Unlock recommends a programme of digital rehabilitation reform, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7 Modernising the ROA to include explicit digital rehabilitation provisions and a presumption of delisting once convictions are spent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7 Statutory guidance clarifying a consistent public interest test for retaining historic conviction data online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7 A specialised Digital Rehabilitation Tribunal for serious offences to review risk, rehabilitation and proportionality on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7 Strengthening ICO capacity and tools to act swiftly against vigilante sites and unlawful data processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7 Clear regulatory standards for AI-generated or AI-processed criminal record data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report concludes that rehabilitation is not about erasing the past, but about recognising people\u2019s capacity to change. Fifty years after the ROA, the internet has turned formal and legally protected second chances into a conditional privilege controlled by algorithms and tech platforms. Without urgent action, the UK\u2019s promise of rehabilitation will remain, for many, a legal fiction rather than a lived reality. To read the full report, click <a href=\"https:\/\/unlock.org.uk\/the-right-to-be-forgotten-rehabilitation-in-the-digital-age\/\" title=\"\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new report published by Unlock, examines how today&#8217;s digital age has undermined the promise of the Rehabilitation of Offenders 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