On January 14, 2025, the Special Committee on Children’s Rights, chaired by MK Eli Dallal (Likud), convened for an important discussion on minors’ right to be forgotten. During the meeting, Dr. Tal Mimran, Head of the “Social Covenant in the Digital Era” program at Tachlit Institute, presented a slideshow outlining the key findings of Tachlit’s research on the subject.

As Dr. Mimran described, the Institute believes that the right to be forgotten for minors in Israel should be promoted based on three central rationales: strengthening privacy protection and autonomy; promoting principles of rehabilitation and forgiveness rooted both in Israeli tradition and in modern legislation worldwide; and addressing the need for modernization of personal data protection in Israel.

In the current era, social networks serve as the primary arena for communication among young people. Despite their many advantages, they also provide fertile ground for the dissemination of harmful content and privacy violations. The spread of inflammatory discourse and exposure of personal content on social networks have become a significant threat to children’s rights, a threat that requires legal response and modernization of individual protection and children’s rights.

During the discussion, there was consensus that the time has come to advance private legislation on the right to be forgotten specifically focused on minors, while finding the appropriate balance between the public’s right to know in certain cases and minors’ rights to protect their privacy and reputation, in a manner that will provide an adequate response to the needs and challenges raised during the discussion.