Erasure is not an absolute delete button
The right to erasure is real and it is conditional.
It applies in defined circumstances and gives way where there is a legal obligation to keep the data, an ongoing contract, or a legal claim. It also collides with practical reality in backups, which cannot be selectively edited. The workable answer is usually to remove from live systems and let the backup cycle age out, documented as such rather than pretended away.
More on UK GDPR
- Lawful basis is the reason processing is permittedIt will not turn without the reason
- Consent is one lawful basis, not the default answerOne setting out of six
- Access rights concern personal data, not every documentThe lines about you, not the page
- Data portability is narrower than a database exportOnly what fits the frame
- Rectification requires organisations to be able to correct inaccurate personal data wherever it is maintainedCorrect it once, then chase every copy
- Restriction can pause use without erasing dataStopped, not shredded