Privacy

Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to stop information about themselves from becoming known to people other than those they choose to give the information to. Privacy is sometimes related to anonymity although it is often most highly valued by people who are publicly known. Privacy can be seen as an aspect of security—one in which trade-offs between the interests of one group and another can become particularly clear.

Types of privacy

Political privacy

:Main article: Political privacy

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People may wish to keep their political viewpoints secret for a variety of reasons - political groupings may be able to commit violence either when successful (using the powers of the state) or when defeated (using their own militias for example). This may be used to punish those who disagree with them. Many people have been tortured or killed for their political views by, for example, dictators, terrorist groups, and often forces linked to democratically elected politicians. The secret ballot, which is common in democratic elections worldwide, is designed to maintain political privacy to limit any discrimination against people who did not vote for the office-holder and to avoid revenge attacks by those who were not elected.

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Outing of individuals can be done for several political reasons; either as a negative campaigning tactic designed to lower the outed person's reputation, or by others of a similar sexual orientation who seek openness over privacy.

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Medical privacy

:Main article: Medical privacy

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Information concerning a person's health is kept confidential to the patient. In most countries, the patient must grant access before anyone other than the staff of medical institutions may view the information. The reasons for keeping medical information private may include possible discrimination against people with a certain medical condition. However, it may be illegal to fail to disclose medical information in certain cases (for example, in the United Kingdom in 2001, Stephen Kelly was found guilty of "culpable and reckless" conduct for failing to tell his girlfriend he was HIV-positive before having unprotected sex with her {{ref|hiv}}). Also see remarks on the Roe v Wade abortion decision below.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - 2001 - Stephen Kelly - HIV - Unprotected sex - Roe v Wade

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Privacy from corporations

Many companies exist which attempt to obtain as much information about customers as possible, through loyalty cards and other kind of customer schemes. This data is immensely valued by other companies, which may pay large amounts of money for access to this information, for marketing purposes (often telemarketing). A huge public backlash against telemarketers led to the introduction of the National Do Not Call Registry in the United States, and similar systems in other countries.

Related Topics:
Loyalty card - Telemarketing - National Do Not Call Registry

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With the increasing amount of e-mail spam being sent, often advertising products for sale, solutions to prevent the loss of privacy (as the spammers use social engineering and other similar practices to keep an up-to-date list of email addresses) have been developed. See e-mail spam for more information.

Related Topics:
E-mail spam - Social engineering

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Laws regulating the use of personal information by companies have diverged significantly between Europen and America with strong regulation in Europe and requirements for explicit permsission before personal information can be reused being standard in the European Union whilst this area is largely unregulated in the USA.

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Privacy from government interference

Governments in many countries are given powers to breach privacy. This is often due to criminal investigations, where police are permitted to seize private property from a suspect's house. Telephone tapping, where all information being transmitted over a phone line is secretly monitored, is often permissible for Law Enforcement Agencies although it sometimes requires permission from a court. This can then be used as evidence in trials where it is used to secure convictions against criminals. However, in the past, numerous cases have been overturned in the United States because the wiretap was not legally allowed. Other ways to monitor people include closed-circuit television cameras, which are placed in public.

Related Topics:
Telephone tapping - Law Enforcement Agencies - United States - Closed-circuit television - Camera

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The desirability of the government monitoring communications, whether permitted by law or not, is a common debate. Organisations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation argue that the right to privacy is an inalienable human right and that it is up to the person whether they should have to disclose information. Other groups, including government agencies like the National Security Agency, maintain that the ability to monitor all communications aids in the prevention of criminal activity and terrorism.

Related Topics:
Electronic Frontier Foundation - National Security Agency - Terrorism

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Effects of war upon privacy

During periods of war, identity documents and similar artifacts have been introduced to establish the identity of the holder. These were used for security purposes — individuals who did not carry the required documents were assumed to be spies and could be interrogated. In World War I identity cards were introduced in the United Kingdom, but in 1919 compulsion to carry them was removed. They were reintroduced in World War II, but after the successful prosecution of Clarence Henry Willcock for refusing to present his card to the police, the law was repealed in 1952. In this case, Lord Chief Justice Lord Goddard commented that identity cards "tend to make people resentful of the acts of the police".

Related Topics:
Identity document - World War I - United Kingdom - 1919 - World War II - Clarence Henry Willcock - 1952 - Lord Chief Justice - Lord Goddard

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Rights of the individual, including habeas corpus, often only apply in periods of peacetime. During the American Civil War in the United States, and during World War II in the United Kingdom, habeas corpus was suspended.

Related Topics:
Habeas corpus - American Civil War

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Since the September 11, 2001 attacks and the "War on Terrorism" declared by the United States government, the right to privacy in the U.S. has been circumscribed with the introduction of bills such as the Patriot Act, and new government organisations such as the United States Department of Homeland Security, and the controversial Information Awareness Office, the latter of which however had all its funding cut due to protests by the public and the United States Senate).

Related Topics:
September 11, 2001 attacks - War on Terrorism - United States government - Bill - Patriot Act - United States Department of Homeland Security - Information Awareness Office - United States Senate

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The Labour government in the U.K. introduced a bill requiring all citizens to carry a British national identity card. It is extremely likely that Labour will introduce ID cards, having been returned to power after the general election of 2005.

Related Topics:
Labour - Government in the U.K. - British national identity card - General election of 2005

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As of 2005, the right to privacy remains an important point of political debate in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries.

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Arguments for government monitoring

• Increased crime detection - due to the placement of CCTV cameras, the success rate of conviction is increased as criminals are more likely to be convicted due to the increased ability to prove a suspect committed an offence.
• Prevention of terrorism - terrorist activities need coordination and this is often done using electronic equipment. If communications between devices can be monitored, the activities of terrorists can be prevented before any terrorist attacks are carried out, and their networks can be disclosed by network analysis and traffic analysis.

Arguments against government monitoring

• Surveillance infringes on civil liberties - there is a lack of anonymity if facial recognition systems can be used, for example, to identify protestors in a demonstration.
• CCTV cameras displace crime, rather than eliminate it - criminals move to areas where CCTV is not in place.
• Monitoring can be used in committing crime, for example Police officers have been caught using cameras to invade the personal privacy of women walking through airports.
• Gathering data about many people in one place (the monitoring center) provides a valuable source of data for undesirable activities
• The same technology used for disclosing networks of terrorists and criminals can be used by repressive regimes for finding dissidents, and allows easy blacklisting or prosecuting of people for their guilt by association (see the Red Scare for a set of historical examples).