I have seen a  number of articles lately about removing one’s self from information aggregation websites like mylife.com and spokeo.com.  I even experimented with removing myself.  My first impression is that it’s a waste of time, and I’m not sure it’s worth the effort, and I’ll tell you why.

In the United States at least, the First Amendment to the Constitution protects the right of free speech.  The government cannot pass a law that restricts the right to post true information on the web, and for mass media defendants, even false information is protected unless it is published with knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.

Moreover, there is no real remedy at law for posting false information that is not defamatory.  There is a state law tort of invasion of privacy, but bringing an invasion of privacy case is rarely economical. 

Mylife.com has something it calls a reputation score.  They can put anything they want on that because their assessment of your reputation is an opinion, and that is constitutionally protected. 

The bottom line is that living in a country with a right of free speech is a two-edged sword, you can pretty much say any true factual information to anyone you want as well as voice your opinion about anybody you want, but other people also have the right to say stuff about you as well. You can try to remove yourself from these sites, but don’t be surprised if your efforts aren’t rewarded by results. 

BTW, you can comment on this post, but please don’t email me on this topic. I have nothing more to add, so you would be wasting your time.