1. PRIVACY

2. Why is it so important, valuable? Why is it in danger in ICT society?
What is privacy?
Why is it so important, valuable?
Why is it in danger in ICT society?
What can be done to prevent/ solve problems which are related with privacy?
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3. If privacy disappears, what exactly be lost? How does
surveillance affect social arrangements, institutions, and practices? What sort of beings do we become when we live in surveillance societies?
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4. Privacy concept is overlapped with the concepts –
the right for liberty,
autonomy,
secrecy,
to control the information about us.
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5. Private organizations and government agencies have been gathering/ collecting information for many, many years;
but in ICT society: Technology enables to collect, store, alter and distribute huge amount of data (in respect with the increase in disk capacities and other advancement/ innovations in technology)
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6. The scale of information gathering changed, has expanded exponentially
The scale of information gathering changed, has expanded exponentially. Easy to create, store, maintain, manipulate, search, and share. Thus, many more records are created and used.
Kind of information changed (ex: Transaction Generated Information –TGI- Automatic. Ex: When a shopping action is conducted, detailed info. is being generated automatically. The record resides in a server somewhere in the world; can be accessed from any number places, downloaded and forwarded)
Although profiles of individuals were produced before ICT, profiles today are expanded and much more detailed.
The scale of info. exchange changed. Distribution of personal information is broader and more extensive than it was ten or twenty years ago. Erroneous personal information also can be distributed and it can effect person’s life. The erronous information may spread so quickly that it is impossible for an individual to track down all the places it exists.
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7. Combinations of data can be mined to find patterns and correlations
Once information about an individual is recorded on a server, it can be bought and sold, given away, traded, or stolen. The distribution of information can take place with or without the knowledge of the person whom the information is about, and it can take place intentionally as well as unintentionally.
In addition to these; information tends to endure for much longer periods of time.
The data collected in different databases, and in different context can be merged to create comprehensive profiles of individuals.
Combinations of data can be mined to find patterns and correlations
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8. Information gathered for one purpose is merged and mined to identify patterns of behavior that no individual could have imagined they were revealing when they (intentionally or unintentionally) disclosed information.
Sorting/ categorizing people according to a certain quality may cause prejudice, injustice, discrimination and inequality. (Different treatments, different opportunities)
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9. In ICT society, information is given/ collected for many different purposes;
ex: for;
health analysis, telephone usage, a hotel reservation transaction, sending a CV, opening a deposit account in a bank, info. gathering via surveys, personal information of clients for customer relations management, and so on…
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10. Some Topics From The Range of Issues: (on privacy.org)
Biometrics technologies
Video surveillance
Online privacy
Workplace monitoring
Wireless communications and location tracking
Data profiling
Identity theft
Background checks
Public records on Internet
Financial privacy
Medical records confidentiality and genetic privacy
Wiretapping and electronic communications
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
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11. The Importance of Privacy:
* Privacy is a human right.
* Privacy is intrinsically good.
* Privacy is an instrumental good.
* Privacy is an individual good.
* Privacy is a social good.
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12. Privacy as an Individual and Instrumental Good:
Instrumental good --> Leads to other goods.
Privacy is a complex value that is intertwined with autonomy, equality, and democracy, and its importance ought to be recognized in ICT-based practices.
Where privacy does not exist, in societies or context in which individuals are under surveillance, trust and friendship cannot develop. (Charles Fried)
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13. Privacy is necessary for diversity in relationships
Privacy is necessary for diversity in relationships. Our teacher, neighbour, doctor, family have different information about us. (James Rachel) Rachel thinks about privacy as the control of information about oneself.
Control of personal information is a means by which we control the relationships we have and how we are treated in those relationships. Control of information about ourselves is an important component of our autonomy.
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14. Privacy as Contextual Integrity:
There are information norms in every domain of life. (Helen Nissanbaum) Vary from domain to domain but in each context individuals have expectations about:
1. what kind of information are appropriate and inappropriate, 2. how that information will be distributed .
There are norms with regard to what is appropriate information in particular context. Similarly, there are norms about how the information revealed in particular context will be distributed. (Who can access particular kinds of records as well as requirements for disclosing records to other agencies.)
According to Nissenbaum, when information norms are violated, an individual’s privacy is violated.
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15. Privacy as a Social Good Essential For Democracy:
Democracy requires citizens who are capable of critical thinking, individuals who can argue about the issues of the day and learn from the argument so that they can vote intelligently.
People who have autonomy can develop independent thinking. In democratic societies, people can develop independent thinking and express their opinions.
Privacy, autonomy and democracy are so intertwined that one is inconceivable without the other.
Autonomy is essential for what it means to be a human.
Rational beings are capable of thinking, processing of information and making judgements, rather than objects or entities to be watched and manipulated.
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16. Many people think that today’s society is a panopticon
Many people think that today’s society is a panopticon. Society is under surveillance by “big brother” as referred the novel “1984” of George Orwell.
Where people are watched, under surveillance; they evaluate themselves from their observer’s eye and behave as their observer wants.
In Panapticon =) Independent thinking and free expression in danger/ or not possible.
Privacy enables making the practice to develop your own sense and develop the potential for self-discovery and creativity which lurk within rich inner life. (Jeffrey Reiman)
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17. Legislative Background:
In 1973, in USA – Fair information Practices – not law, accepted as a standart and became a model for law. 1.There must be no personal data record-keeping system whose existence is secret, 2.There must be a way for an individual to find out what information about him or her is in a record and how it is used, 3. There must be away for an individual to prevent information about him or her that was obtained for one purpose from being used or made available for other purposes without his or her consent. 4.There must be a way for an individual to correct or amend a record of identifiable information about him or her, and 5.Any organization creating, maintaining, using, or disseminating records of identifiable personal data must assure the reliability of the data for their intended use and must take precautions to prevent the misuse of data.
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18. What can be done to protect privacy?
Computer Professionals can do: - Taking precautions to ensure the accuracy of data - Protecting it from unauthorized access or
accidental disclosure to inappropriate individuals
- Provide proper security for the data
- Ensure proper disposal of the data - Privacy enhancing technologies – cryptographic techniques.
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19. Private and Public Organizations can:
Adopt internal policies with regard to the handling of personal information.
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20. Indivuduals:
– Don’t give away the information more than necessary - Aware of the information you are giving - Keep copies of the information you give - Ask the reason when there is a negative decision
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21. Bibliography:
Computer Ethics, Deborah Johnson, Pearson Education International, 2009 (4th edtn.) p
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