Nowadays, colleges, as well as potential employers, are using digital profiles to gather more information on applicants. Knowing that, don’t you wish you could “erase” your digital past?

Well, teenagers in California get to do just that.

Passed on September 23^rd by Governor Jerry Brown, Senate Bill 568 essentially forces websites whose users are under 18 to have the visible option to delete pictures and  posts  from their digital profile.

Of course, most websites already allow their users to delete what they post or “share.” But this law, which will be enacted on January 1^st, 2013, will make it mandatory for websites to let minors delete what they may have accidently – and sometimes foolishly – shared before they are sent to third parties.

The piece of legislation will oblige online sites to remove information if a minor wants it to be taken down. Although the site will be forced to take down any embarrassing or harmful posts the minor may have shared, it does not mean that the data will be deleted.

Written by the Californian Senate President pro Tem Steinberg, the bill contains two parts.

First is a piece of legislation that forbids Internet companies from advertising products such as alcohol and cigarettes, which are illegal for minors to buy. The second part of the bill is what captured the media’s attention, with it being an “eraser button bill”. This allows teenagers to erase posts before it’s sent to a third party who would use them for advertisement among other things.

This law would affect Internet hotspots such as Google, Facebook and Twitter. However, both Facebook and Twitter already allow users to delete what they share.

            Meant to give students the opportunity to take down the things they posted and now regret, this law will also prevent potentially harmful posts from following them in the future – whether it’s while applying for colleges or trying to obtain a job.  

“Let me preface this by saying that I really don’t know enough about that particular legislation. What I will say is this: even if they allow them to delete content that they have posted previously, that content is still out there somewhere,” said Mrs. Castro, MLEC activities’ director and a user of social media. “So, the bottom line is, that while I don’t think that minors should necessarily be penalized for the rest of their lives for inappropriate remarks that they make while they’re young and not knowledgeable about life, I still think they’re going to suffer the consequences of falling to this society in which we feel it necessary to post every single sentiment and thought on the internet.” 

Similar to the 2011 Do Not Track Kids Act, which increased privacy protection for those under 18, this law, supported by organizations such as Child Abuse Prevention Center and Common Sense Media, is expected to help turn around the rising bullying and harassment rates.

However, there are many fears revolving around this law. Some include how this law will affect how teenagers in California use the Internet, as well as how websites will develop different policies for individual states.

SB568 advocates hope that the law will extend even further than what’s expected and allow teenagers outside of California to get rid of the digital skeletons in their closets.

“We are always told to think twice about what we say. I believe we are capable of considering and reconsidering what we post on social sites. Being able to delete posts would only allow those people that don’t “think twice” to go back on their own words. In my opinion, one should stand by what he says, if this happens, there would be no need for such law,” said David Pacheco, a junior in the Information Technology academy.