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What is privacy and why should you care?
Almost a century ago, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis defined privacy as "the right to be let alone", which he said was one of the rights most cherished by Americans.
In the Information Age, personal information has become a highly valued commodity that is captured and compiled, bought and sold in ways never before imagined. Whole industries and bureaucracies have formed solely to collect and distribute sensitive information that individuals once viewed as under their exclusive control: medical records, personal shopping habits, credit histories. As our wallets become "e-wallets" financial data, housed somewhere out on the Internet rather than in our back-pockets, and as our public institutions, businesses, and even cultural institutions find homes online, the confidentiality of our communications, papers, and information encounters an increasing risk of compromise.
Justice Brandeis' vision of being "let alone" no longer suffices to define the concept of privacy in today's digital environment, where every bit of personal information can be transported and distributed around the world in seconds. Individuals should be able to interact in modern society without losing control over their personal information. The modern right to privacy also entails, therefore, the right to control our personal information even after we disclose it to others.
For an in-depth discussion of the elements and the concept of privacy, read CDT's " Privacy in the Digital Age: Work in Progress ".
Top Ten Ways To Protect Your Privacy Online
CDT's Guide To Web Site Privacy Policies
The Internet is a microcosm of the debate over privacy and technology's impact on the collection of personal information. Internet use generates detailed information about individuals -- revealing where they "go" on the Net (via URLs), whom they associate with (via list-servs, chat rooms and news groups), and how they engage in political activities and social behavior. Various tracking tools can mine and manipulate your online data trail (or "clickstream") to build a detailed database of personal information without your knowledge or consent.
What laws or policies govern collection and use of personal data? What do lawmakers propose to do? What promise does technology hold to enhance privacy? What can you do as an individual to protect your privacy? Read on. |