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Everyone knows what privacy is, but it is very
difficult to define.
We use the term privacy in
different ways, and each meaning many
have a particular significance in terms of modern technology. For example,
privacy can mean the right to be left alone, and this can be interpreted as
the right not to receive SPAM or unsolicited Email. Similarly, privacy can
mean the right to secrecy which implies the freedom from hacking or
eavesdropping (i.e., people reading your files or intercepting your email).
Privacy can mean anonymity which is the protection from undesired
attention.
Although texts on ethics seem to regard
privacy as a right that is less important than the right to freedom of
speech, I would disagree. A simple thought experiment will demonstrate why I
hold this opinion. The we all experience a high-level of privacy for
biological reasons; what we think remains in our brains. Suppose
humanity were granted the gift of unlimited telepathy and we could read each
other's thoughts. Life would be intolerable if anyone could read your most
intimate thoughts. At the very least it would put politicians out of
business and crime would be impossible.
Fortunately, we are not telepathic. But what
we do, where we go, what we read, and what we write and all our records are
elements of our privacy that can be compromised in the modern world.
If we lack privacy, our behavior is modified.
You behave differently when you are being watched. Privacy is
important both at home and in the workplace. Few would like to be
continually observed by their employer; for example, by having all your
email read.
Unlike the freedom of speech that is guaranteed
by the constitution in the USA, there is no explicit right to privacy. Some
argue that the US constitution does guarantee privacy implicitly because you
can't enjoy other freedoms without privacy; for example, the fourth
amendment provides protection from searches and seizure of property which
implies that you should have privacy at home. It is less helpful when it
comes to privacy and the Internet.
The USA has numerous laws in many spheres that
do cover aspects of privacy, but there is no specific law that guarantees
the right to privacy.
The European Union does, however, have laws
that guarantee citizens the right to privacy in terms of data protection.
Privacy and Computing
The issue of privacy arises in several guises
in computing. The freedom from intrusion is largely covered by "hacking".
Intrusion covers unauthorized access to your computer and its data.
Intrusion also arises when others access
either your incoming or outgoing emails.
An insidious form of denial of privacy is the
compilation of "patterns of behavior" of unsuspecting people. Data about you
is gathered enabling organizations to target you. Few would want an
organization about which they know little to gather sufficient information
about you predict your social or spending habits and then to sell this data
to other organizations.
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