Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
whether it be a song or a Social Security number. Information has become a valuable
commodity.
Privacy can be seen as a balancing act between the desires of the individual and
the needs of society. The individual seeks to restrict access. Society must decide where to
draw the line between what ought to be private and what should be public. While privacy
has both costs and benefits, the benefits of providing people at least some privacy exceed
the costs. Philosophers disagree whether people have a natural right to privacy, but most
of them agree it is a prudential right. We choose to give each other some privacy for our
mutual good.
There is a tension between privacy and trust. We desire privacy, but we also want
others to trust us. That means we have to reveal some personal information to others.
Sometimes we are required to disclose information that is shared with everyone.
A public record is a piece of information collected by a government agency. Certain
activities, such as getting arrested, buying a house, and having a child, result in the
creation of a public record.
Quite often we participate in activities that result in private organizations collecting
information about us. Data mining is a way for organizations to create a complex pro-
file of a person from a large collection of individual facts. Companies use data mining
to direct advertising to the most promising customers. Data mining is possible because
organizations handling transactions have the right to sell information about these trans-
actions to other organizations.
Whether to provide customers with better service, increase their revenues, or both,
companies frequently push the boundaries of what consumers are willing to tolerate. It
is becoming an increasingly common occurrence that a company is forced to withdraw
a new service because consumers loudly voice privacy concerns.
1.
How is WhitePages.com able to produce a map to a person's home, given only that
person's phone number?
2.
Is privacy a negative right or a positive right?
3.
What right is guaranteed by the Third Amendment to the US Constitution?
4.
What does it mean when we say that privacy is a prudential right?
5.
Give three examples of ways in which an inhabitant of New York City in 2003 has more
privacy than an inhabitant of New York City in 1903.
6.
What is a public record?
7.
List five pieces of information about a person that are public records.
8.
Provide an example (not already given in the topic) of a situation where people must
disclose personal information to a private organization in order to get something they
want.
