Privacy is central to the protection of citizenship rights. In what way are online media undermining our ability to exercise these rights?

Article 1 of the Declaration of Human Rights assures that all men are free. However, social media, men’s creation, might be threat to this right, along with autonomy and self-determination. We must understand that privacy is essential to the exercise of these citizenship rights, on several levels.

First of all, we, as human beings select the information that we want to be revealed. Why? Because (1) we have the dilemna between who we are and who we want to be/who we show, and (2) because we are learning to understand ourselves. In “Perspectives on Privacy,” Solove explained this theory (Solove, D. Perspectives on Privacy). “Each person is aware of the gap between what he wants to be and what he actually is, between what the world sees of him and what he knows to be his much more complex reality,” stated Solove. “Privacy gives freedom to learn, grow and experiment,” he explained. In fact, this privacy protects our self-pride and keeps our ego satisfied. Autonomy fails once privacy is not respected. “The individual’s sense that it is he who decides when to “go public” is a crucial aspect of his autonomy.” It is not only about self-satisfaction and determination but also about the emotional release it provides. “Having privacy for such permissible deviations is a key characteristic of a free society.” Privacy and freedom are a vicious cycle. When freedom is taken you are submissive and automatically lack autonomy and a sense of dignity, and once your privacy is offended, your freedom no longer exists since your free will lacks informational autonomy.

Privacy enables us to maintain a basic level of dignity, security, and trust in our lives. According to Solove, it protects our dignity (A), self pride and respect. “Every individual lives behind a mask through which he presents himself to a social audience. If this mask is torn off while everyone still wears his or her own the individual can be harmed by the hot light of forced exposure. (Solove, D. Perspectives on Privacy)” (B) Security means protection and protection isn’t possible without privacy. How? Because in order to guarantee our security, we have the right to chose what to publish, how to publish it, to whom, where, when, and why. However, although I strongly believe in privacy, I have realized after taking this course that it can harm the public sometimes (case of James Foley’s parents asking for the right to be forgotten — or when a scandalous private news in the CIA is not published). Here is when I ask myself: what is more important: security or news? According to the European Law, privacy equals respect the person, whether it is protection personality, individuality, or dignity. (C) And last but not least, when it comes to trust, we are signing a deal with the medium itself (Example: WhatsApp’s rules and conditions) as well as with the people we’re interacting with (for example: private option of Instagram). Also, we are respecting the trust we have towards ourselves.

Social media, mobile phones, and search engines put these values at risk. I would like to focus on three examples. (I) It increases our vulnerability to harassment, abuse, identity theft or surveillance. Since it poses a direct threat to senses of dignity, security and the degree of autonomy self determination, it plays a role in damaging our emotional state. The speed, the access, and the depth of these mediums contribute to a global surveillance that we can barely (sometimes never) control. As the US Slander law, for example, prevent damage to reputation, it fails to protect injury of feelings or peace of mind. (II) Those mediums enable others to gain insights into our personal lives we are not aware of or that may not agree with, which allow gossip, which is a form of transgression of privacy. Hence, Solove explains that “gossip is no longer the resources of the idle and the vicious, but has become a trade, which is pursued with industry as well as effrontery (shamelessness).” The lack of trust and stability through the display of private information. But I strongly believe that the problem is with technology challenging us with obstacles we didn’t know existed. “Privacy is about the appropriate flow of information. Technology introduced new and different flows confronting us with problems we did not know that exist.” And finally (III), search engines, social media, and phones are professionals and keeping their own privacy safe, hiding the truth from us. This internal war between privacy and a-privacy is what leads to our harm. How? Let’s take WhatsApp’s example. WhatsApp refuses to show you an old conversation that you have deleted, however, it is saved in its data. Let’s take Google. Google chooses what to show you because it has its privacy to protect its information, but what about you?

On the other hand, I would like to point something out. As a young journalist I have learned that your privacy stops once it starts harming the public good. I live by the utilitarian approach. If I killed someone then my name should be mentioned. If I am the President and I am having an affair with the enemy, then my people should know. The lack of privacy is harmful, but sometimes Karma is just doing its job.

References:

Online Privacy: How did we get here, Frontline PBS Documentary, 2013;

Solove, D. (2011) ‘Introduction. Information Privacy Law: Origins and Types’, in Solove, D. & Schwartz, P. Information, Privacy, Law, Aspen Casebook, Walters & Kluwer, Frederick, MD, p. 20 -22;

Solove, D. (2011) ‘Perspectives on Privacy’ in in Solove, D. & Schwartz, P. Information, Privacy, Law, Aspen Casebook, Walters & Kluwer, Frederick, MD p. 44–45;

Solove, D. (2011) ‘Perspectives on Privacy’, in Solove, D. & Schwartz, P. Information, Privacy, Law, Aspen Casebook, Walters & Kluwer, Frederick, MD, p. 51;

Solove, D. (2011) ‘Perspectives on Privacy’ in in Solove, D. & Schwartz, P. Information, Privacy, Law, Aspen Casebook, Walters & Kluwer, Frederick, MD p. 44–45

Solove, D. (2011) ‘Introduction. Information Privacy Law: Origins and Types’, in Solove, D. & Schwartz, P. Information, Privacy, Law, Aspen Casebook, Walters & Kluwer, Frederick, MD, p. 16 + 18