The right to be forgotten has become a matter of capital importance due to the absence of spatial and temporal borders on the Internet. In order to understand everything related to this emerging right, it is necessary to analyze its real origin before the digital era.The primary purpose of carrying out this background is to have more in-depth and exhaustive knowledge of its origins that date back to the late 19th century, most notably in the United States and France. Then, it analyzes the different forms of protection of this emerging right in the US and Europe to consider the different realities that are being created in both continents. The aim is to balance the right to information with the right to be forgotten inan era where digital memory does not forget or forgive.El derecho al olvido digital se ha convertido en cuestión de capital importancia, debido a la ausencia de fronteras espacio-temporales de Internet. Para entender todo lo relativo al mismo, es necesario analizar cuál es su verdadero origen, previo a la sociedad digital.Por ello, en primer lugar se estudian sus orígenes que datan de finales del siglo XIX, y que se ubican principalmente en Estados Unidos y Francia. Posteriormente, se analizan las diferentes formas de protección de este derecho emergente en Estados Unidos y Europa, para poder comparar las diferentes realidades que se están dando en ambos Continentes.