Privacy is the claim of individuals want to be alone. Free from surveillance or interference from other individuals, organizations, or state. Claim to control information about yourself.
Privacy can mean:
- Freedom from intrusion.
- Control of information about oneself.
- Freedom from surveillance.
- IT Societies are Surveillance Societies
o IT allows people to be easily tracked and monitored.
o Eg: Data can create profiles of individuals. The data can be “mined” for patterns of behavior.
Privacy as a Value
- Control of information about ourselves is important for our autonomy (freedom from external control or influence; independence).
- We need to release information about ourselves in some contexts, but should have control over whether it flows to other places.
Category of privacy:
1. Individual privacy
- The interests that individual have in sustaining a personal space. Free from the interference by other people and organizations.
2. Personal communication privacy
- It refers to media technology that will be used in personal to share or communicate some information with another.
- E.g.: Telephone communication. Two persons communicated with each other, then if someone crossed the line and heard the conversation, it become invasions privacy.
3. Information privacy
- It refers to the right of individual to deny or restrict the collection and use of information about them.
- It is easier to maintain because information is keep in separate locations.
- Eg: Doctor had their own patient information and located the information on separated files.
4. Personal data privacy
- Today huge databases store the data in online databases
- much of the data is personal and confidential and should be accessible to only allowed users
- some individuals collect and use this information without authorization
