CBA Newsletter April 2021

“Righttobeforgotten”wasfirstbroughttothepublicin2014,whenGooglewasdefeatedbyCostejaforkeepinga negativesearchresultofhim.Theright,however,issoonironicallyforgottenbythenetizensbecauseweareused torelyingononlineresultstojudgeeverythingaroundus.Livinginadigitalage,manyvictimssufferfrom the overpoweredsearchengines,leadingtotheriseofanewtypeofbusiness.TheCurrentBusinessAffairsNewsletter (AprilIssue)ofTheBusinessStudents'Union,HKUSTSUistakingyoutoanoverviewofdigitalcleaning. W hyDigitalCleanse? RegainControloverYourImage IfyournameappearsonGooglesearch,youmightbe TheMarque,aLondon-based companypromoting excitedforamomentbecauseoftheinsignificantfame, brand buildingserviceonline,aimsatservingthe butperhapsnotafterfindingoutapornstarwiththe elitesindifferentfields.Thebasicpackageincludes samename.Similarsituationsareubiquitous,suchas writing an up-to-date biography and media beingannouncedinscandalsorcrimewhichhardly productions by a “digital manager”, while the relatetothevictims,orhavingyourpicturespostedas companyoffers“digitalauditing”thatassessesyour ayoungkid.Socialmediatodayissopowerfulthat onlinereputationandhighlightsanyrisksthatmay they can trigger consequences thatothers never harm yourimage,likeanarticleorasingletweet. imagined. Another London-based company Pure Reputation Buttheunseenisthedeadliest.Nottomentionposts takesamixtureofsimultaneousapproachestohelp orarticlesthatarepublishedwithoutone’sconsent, improveitsclients’onlinereputations.Itdirectlygoes thespreadingspeedisastoundingwiththousandsof to Google and asksthem to remove contenton retweets and shares in any seconds. Alexi groundsofdefamationorrighttobeforgotten.The McCammond was once appointed to be the firm alsopayspeopleforvisitingnewwebsitessoasto editor-in-chiefofTeen Vogue,thwartedbecauseof overridethenegativeresultson thetop.Basically, sensitivetweetsatthetimeshewasonly17yearsold. therewillalwaysbesomeonewhocanbuilda“digital Thecultureof“cancellation”issoentrenchedthata twin”onyoursocialmediaasstunningasyoulike–as personmustbeflawlessontheInternet,creatinga longasyoucanpay. huge demand for a professional service as an omnipotentcure. Sources:JemimaKelly.“Insidethe‘digitalcleanse’companiestakingoncancelculture”FinancialTimes,21April2021, https://www.ft.com/content/3f1c1edd-a319-4bec-af7b-a4a839919a91

CounterbalancingtheTechnology Iffirmscould possesscompletecontrolovertheir imageontheInternet,noonewouldbeabletoreveal Theserviceisnecessarytoachieverighttobeforgotten,or mistakesorevencorruptioninthebusinesses,which even toprotectfundamentalprivacy.Formerbossof isnothealthyforthebusinessenvironmentanda Sainsbury,oneofthelargestchaingrocerystoresinthe competitivemarket.Thedigitalcleaningcompanies UK,JustinKingwassickofhisemployeessearchinghis all claim to be “brand building” instead of emailaddressonWikipediaandwritingcomplaintletters whitewashing,butitisdifficulttocategorizedigital tohim.“Theideathatyoucouldkeepasinglesourceof cleaningaseitheronebecausethelinebetweenthe truthinoneplace–mytruthaboutmeandwhatIdo– twoishardlydistinguishable,puttingpublicinterests wasveryappealing,”saidbyJustinafterbeingaclientof atrisk. The Marque. The basic right to protect personal informationisrestoredwithtremendouseffortsagainst Digital cleaning as a technology is already tinyrumoursonWikipedia. controversial, while the industry trying to commercializeittriggersanotherproblem.Current Italsoreplacestraditionaladvertisingsinceithasbeen digitalcleaningservicescanchargeuptomillionsper outweighedbyscandalousGooglesearches.Thespeedof month,keepingmanyawayfrom theunreachable one argumentreplicating itselfon socialmedia and threshold.Whenthefirmsareonlyservingelites,we searchenginesistoofastforanyadvertisingcompanyto canforeseethattherichbecomesricher,viceversa.To handle,andiftheyinsisttotrusttheinfluenceofpaid avoiddominationbytherichontheInternet,itishigh searchesblindlyand promotetheirgreatvisionsand timethatregulationskickedintheindustryandtook missionsrightnexttodefamatorynews,itisjusttoo socialimpactsintoaccount. obviousandmakesthemselveshypocritic.Withsearch engineoptimization(SEO),digitalcleaningcompanies YourFeedback…… candoamuchbetterjobinpromotionandimagebuilding beneaththeradar,forthegeneralpublicthatseldom YourfeedbackwillhelpalottoimproveourCBA doubtthesourceoftopGooglesearches. Newsletter,ifyouhaveanyenquiriesorsuggestions, please do nothesitate to contactThe Executive W hitewashingandEquality Committee of the Union through email by [email protected],orby mailto Mailbox #15,LG5 Companieshavetheirreasonstohidesecretsintermsof StudentAmenities,TheHongKongUniversityof privacy,butthepublicalso havetherightto know. ScienceandTechnology,ClearWaterBay,Kowloon, HK.