Three Aspects of Privacy - Essay Example

Sur Supervisor Media Law, Ethics & Society Privacy loosely refers to the of being away from other people’s sight or interest, and it is very important in our lives since we have a right to private life. However, this right is often infringed as a result of the use of cyber technology such as the internet during the contemporary period. According to Lessig, there are three aspects of privacy namely: privacy in private, privacy in public: surveillance and privacy in public data (201). Each aspect is going to be explained briefly below. The first aspect of privacy in private is related to the element of private property where the traditional law stipulates that each person has a right to be left alone. Emphasis is put on the aspect of physical barriers where the law prohibits other people to enter into other people’s private places like homes without authority. However, technology has significantly changed this since it is now possible to intrude into someone’s privacy since the aspect of physical barriers can be evaded through different types of technology. This makes it a bit challenging to enforce the law of privacy in different scenarios. The second aspect is related to privacy in public where it can be noted that it is quite difficult to be protected by the law in terms of privacy in the public space. A person can be monitored in a given area as he moves around and this is common if a person displays a unique behaviour. Some data about a person can be searchable through the use of new information and technology. If a person supplies personal details when buying something online then this information can be traced which deals a severe blow to the aspect of privacy in public. It cannot be strictly maintained once the use of computer technology has been involved. For instance, emails as well as telephone calls can be monitored. On the other hand, it can be noted that video cameras can also be used to monitor the behaviour of people in the public. However, it can be seen that the use of new technology has posed new challenges to the aspect of privacy since people can be monitored unintentionally. The third aspect of privacy according to Lessig is related to privacy in the public data. The internet is used to gather data about different people, and this information helps organizations to carry out their business. It may be argued that this data used for public purposes, as far as business is concerned, does not amount to intrusion of privacy. People can willingly provide data about themselves to different companies, and this can be used for commercial purposes. 2. Lessing also argues that data collection is a harmful invasion of people’s privacy. People can be monitored unknowingly, especially through the use of secret video cameras. There are different values that are likely to arise from this invasion of privacy. The first value that is likely to be affected is benefit of innocence. Any person who is secretly monitored will have to prove that s/he is innocent in the event that a story alleging that this person has been involved in suspicious dealings. In some cases, the person involved may be innocent, and s/he has to prove to the people that s/he is not guilty of the alleged offence or any wrongdoing. Doubts may remain in the minds of some people hence the need to prove that a person is innocent. The second value is related to the right to live in separate normative places. Some people may need to remain anonymous and live out of a watchful public eye. However, this value can be affected if personal data ends up being used for other purposes without the owner’s consent. Cybercrime can be committed using data about other people that is obtained from public domains. In some instances, unscrupulous people may try to evade personal accounts belonging to other people with the intention of swindling them their hard earned cash. These people may try to offer unsuspecting people lucrative deals which are non-existent with the aim of getting their personal details so that they can access their bank accounts. Cybercrime involves abuse of data obtained from the internet. Therefore, some people can manipulate information about other people for their personal gain. In some case, people may end up receiving mails from other people about certain products and services even if they are not interested in the products and services offered. This has a negative impact on their privacy since they may not be interested in the deals being offered. Thus, public data about other individuals should not be sold to other people as this will be an invasion of their privacy. These people may not be able to enjoy the right to live in normative spaces. The third value is related to profiling of personal data. It can be noted that data collected from people can be made public such that it can be accessed by other companies. This means that other people can monitor the activities of other people such as their lifestyles. The problem related to this situation is that people can be discriminated on the basis of this information. For instance, prices of products that are offered in the market can be different as a result of the information of the collected about different people. This can create a wrong conception about other people by different companies since these people will end up being targeted for wrong reasons. In fact, the data collected about a person should be specifically used for private business, and it should not be made accessible to other people in the private domain since this can infringe on their rights. Essentially, people should make their own decisions not to be forced into a certain situation by companies as a result of their personal data supplied. 3. According to Lessig (228), property rule entails that an individual has legal right over his or her privacy and he has the autonomy to make decisions about all aspects related to his personal privacy. Any information about an individual can only made available to other parties through consent. On the other hand, the liability rule entails that a person has entitlement to something, but the protection is less individual since any person can have a right to it as long as he can pay the price required by the state to have that entitlement. The main difference between the two is that an individual has the right over an entitlement while liability rule posits to the effect that the state has more power over an entitlement than the individual. This means that the power is vested in the state as far as liability rule is concerned unlike property rule which gives individuals more power over their entitlements. A person who has obtained consent from the title holder can reproduce the work belonging to another individual under property rule while many people can reproduce the same kind of work as long as they can pay the price. Lessig thinks that the use of property rule can be used for privacy since it can reinforce the importance of privacy among different people. The author believes that this rule can play a significant role in helping other people to respect other individuals’ privacy if it is treated like property. The main reason for this notion is that people will tend to attach more value to privacy if it is given the priority it deserves. Basically, property rule should be applied to the aspect of privacy since there are many advantages that can be derived from this initiative. Every person has a right to privacy, and that right should be protected in order to promote peace among different people. There is a tendency by some people to intrude other people’s privacy intentionally, and this can be curbed if privacy is treated as a property right. This will also help other people to have better perceptions about the aspect of privacy about other individuals. Works cited Lessig, Lawrence. Code. New York, NY: Basic books, 2006. Print. Read More