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Importance of privacy and security
Privacy issues with social networking sites
Importance of privacy and security
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Privacy
A person has a right to solitude and freedom from prying public eyes, in other
words, to privacy. The definition of privacy in the Webster's Dictionary is defined as
"isolation, seclusion, or freedom from unauthorized oversight or observation." In the
essay " The Price of Admission: Harassment and Free Speech in the Wild Wild West,"
Stephanie Brail discusses how online harassment has become a media headliner in the
last few years.
There are many reasons to hide your real identity when you use the Internet. You
might want to protect yourself against an oppressive government, or post personal
messages to a Usenet newsgroup without identifying yourself to the whole world as the
poster. Although everyone takes privacy in normal life for granted, trying to get the same
level of privacy on the Internet (or even on your own computer) is a little less accepted,
and sometimes a bit more complicated. While the general attitude is hard to change, many
ways exist to enhance your privacy online. For the most part, total privacy does not exist
on the Internet. It is nearly impossible to erase all of your digital footprints. This does not
warrant panicking, however. On-line shopping at reliable sites is perfectly safe, and risks
to your personal privacy are minimal. However there are steps you can take to ensure that
you have a certain level of anonymity when browsing the web. Visit the other Privacy
sections for software and information on anonymous e-mail web browsing, and file-
security.
Stephani Brail was an "internet resident" since 1988 when she discovered the
price of freedom when she became the focus of the first case of sexual harassment on the
Net to attract national attention. She believes that online harassment is already killing
free speech on the Internet. Brail discusses in her essay about internet harassment which
has received a lot of press in the past few years. Women seem to be becoming increasingly
subject to offensive, sometimes threatening behavior in the workplace, on campuses, and
now, on the internet . She also discusses when harassment takes on a threatening tenor
and the subject of the harassment is placed in fear, it may become actionable not only in
civil courts, but criminal courts as well. Various state and federal statutes regarding
harassment and "stalking" have been enacted to attempt to deal with such unwelcome
attention, and its harmful effects. As technology progresses, so have legal regulations and
The word “privacy” has a different meaning in our society than it did in previous times. You can put on Privacy settings on Facebook, twitter, or any social media sights, however, nothing is truly personal and without others being able to view your information. You can get to know a person’s personal life simply by typing in their name in google. In the chronicle review, “Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have ‘Nothing to Hide,'" published on May 15th 2011, Professor Daniel J. Solove argues that the issue of privacy affects more than just individuals hiding a wrong. The nothing-to-hide argument pervades discussions about privacy. Solove starts talking about this argument right away in the article and discusses how the nothing-to-hide
One of the most sacred ideas that we hold dear is our right to privacy. It a simple correlation between being free and doing what we want, legally speaking, in our own homes and lives. Unfortunately, our lives seem to become less...
How much privacy do we as the American people truly have? American Privacy is not directly guaranteed in any manner under the United States Constitution; however, by the Fourth Amendment, Americans are protected from illegal search and seizure. So then isn’t it ironic that in today’s modern world, nothing we do that it is in any way connected to the internet is guaranteed to remain discreet? A Google search, an email, a text message, or even a phone call are all at risk of being intercepted, traced, geo located, documented, and stored freely by the government under the guise of “protecting” the American people. Quite simply, the Government in order to protect us and our rights, is willing to make a hypocrite of itself and act as though our right is simply a privilege, and without any form of consent from the people, keep virtual tabs on each and every one of us. In the words of Former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis “The right to privacy is a person's right to be left alone by the government... the right most valued by civilized men." Privacy isn’t just Privilege, it is nonnegotiable right, and deserves to be treated as such.
Privacy is a complex concept with no universal definition as its meaning changes with society. Invasion of privacy occurs when there is an intrusion upon the reasonable expectation to be left alone. There has been a growing debate about the legitimacy of privacy in public
3. Herman T. Tavani, "Privacy Online," Computers and Society, Vol. 29, No. 4, 1999, pp. 11-19.
When we mention the word ‘privacy’, we mean that there is something very personal about ourselves. Something that we think others are not supposed to know, or, we do not want them to. Nevertheless, why is it so? Why are people so reluctant to let others know about them entirely? This is because either they are afraid of people doing them harm or they are scared that people may treat them differently after their secrets are known. Without privacy, the democratic system that we know would not exist. Privacy is one of the fundamental values on which our country was established. Moreover, with the internet gaining such popularity, privacy has become a thing of the past. People have come to accept that strangers can view personal information about them on social networking sites such as Facebook, and companies and the government are constantly viewing a person’s activity online for a variety of reasons. From sending email, applying for a job, or even using the telephone, Americans right to privacy is in danger. Personal and professional information is being stored, link, transferred, shared, and even sold. Various websites, the government and its agencies, and hospitals are infringing our privacy without our permission or knowledge.
Despite all the controversy and disagreements, most of the populous would agree that on an individual level, privacy is our space to be ourselves as well as to define ourselves through autonomy and protecting our dignity. Our interactions with others can define the level of our relationships with them through the amount of privacy we can afford in the relationship. As we age and immerse ourselves into society, we gain a sense of confidence and security from our privacy. A sense that others know only what we tell them and we know only what they tell us in exchange. What we fear is what others can access and what they might do if they knew of our vulnerabilities. Maintaining and keeping our vulnerable aspects private, we develop a false sense of personal safety from the outside.
... Internet, some privacy should be expected as long as there is no illegal activity, but it is never guaranteed.
Years ago, personal privacy was actually quite common. People could do and say things without everybody knowing, and it seemed like most people weren’t worried about others. It was rare to hear about people feeling unsafe while using the computer or on the phone (when they had them). It was also unusual to hear of someone complaining of feeling as if they did not have enough privacy twenty years ago (although whether or not that is caused by lack of communication or lack of crime, it cannot be certain). There was never an...
If people feel comfortable in their surroundings then privacy is not a concern. At other times, people feel violated when they are subject to random searches; this random factor is what other people consider wrong. People feel intruded on when they see a roadblock ahead or a request to see their driver’s license when writing checks. Others are interrupted at dinner by the phone ringing from telemarketers. This selling of information is what the Europeans call data protection. If the data is not kept private, things such as credit card numbers could be stolen over the phone.
In this sense, privacy, from the symbolic interactionist position that the self is created through social interaction, is a necessary precondition for the creation and preservation of the self. The “self” entails personhood, autonomy, and identity. Privacy can be experienced in a number of forms. Alan Westin defined four states – or experiences – of privacy: solitude, intimacy, anonymity, and reserve. Solitude is a physical separation from others (31).
The right to privacy is our right to keep a domain around us, which includes all those things that are apart of us, such as our body, home, property, thoughts, feelings, secrets and identity. The right to privacy gives us the ability to choose which parts in this domain can be accessed by others, and to control the extent, manner and timing of the use of those parts we choose to disclose (Privacy Concerns 1). “Everyone has the right for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right…” (Privacy concerns 2). In 1998, the Human Rights Act, the act sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals have, came into force; it incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 8 which protects the right to private and family life. Was the first time there was a generalized right to privacy recognized by law in this country.
In this new era of the Internet, most people use the Internet to acquire information of one kind or other. But what these people are not aware of is that the Internet is collecting information about them. Every time we get onto the Internet there might be a compromise of privacy of our personal information. The information flows both ways. With every clock of the mouse on a hyperlink, or an addition to the mailing list, someone out there might be gathering information about us. This raises the seriousness of privacy of our information on the Internet.
Privacy in Cyberspace Computers and the Internet have changed many things in the world today. People surf the web on a daily basis for information and entertainment. The Internet is making things like paying your bills from home a possibility. This was something that you had to leave the house to do, even if it was just dropping a check in the mail. Now you can pay your bills and buy your groceries, with everything being just a point and a click away.