CaliforniaStateUniversityMontereyBay

Privacy
TheEvolutionFromThenandNow

MichaelGu
CST373EthicsInComm&Tech
KevinCahill
10/05/2015

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Privacy

Privacyisaconceptthatprotectstheabilityforindividualsorgroupstokeepinformation
hidden.Itsaformofexpressioninasenseinwhichtheuserdoesntexpresssomethingand
keepsithiddentoarangeofgroupsincludingasinglepersontotheworld.Privacycanbe
thoughtasaverypowerfultool,muchlikeacomputer.Atoolthatallowsfortheprotectionof
rights.Italsoallowsfortheverydestructionofthoserights.Privacyisaveryoldandsacred
value.Howeverwiththenewtechnologyadvances,privacymustchangeoritcouldcompletely
vanishinthisgeneration.
Privacyshouldhaveitslimits.Totalprivacycannotexistforeveryoneorelsetheworld
willbecometoohiddenforanyonetounderstand.Privacyisnotthesameforeveryone,it
changesdependingonthesituationandlocation.Privacyismanageddifferentlyfordifferent
peopleanddifferentscales.Differentcultureshavedifferentperspectivesonprivacy.Myculture,
beingChinesecreatesasituationwherethechildofanyparentisntsupposedtokeepsecrets
fromtheirelders.ThereisverylittleindividualprivacyforchildreninaChinesehouseholdin
general.JoyceMilletwroteadocumentonChineseCulturalbehaviorsandherexcerptfromthe
privacypartstated,
TheChineseconceptofprivacydifferssignificantlyfromthatintheWest,where
peopleareusedtohavingtheirownspace,office,room.TheChinesearenot
accustomedtothisluxury.Privacytothemrelatestotheirownthoughtsand
emotionsthattheyproudlykeeptothemselves(Millet,2010).
IagreemostlywiththisstatementhowevernotallChinesethinkinthisfashion.Theculture
tendencyofthisstatementistrueformostChineseinmyexperience.

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However,inmysituationmyparentsmovedtotheUnitedStates,changingtheirsurroundings
andenvironmentreallyshednewlightontheircultureandbecamemoreofamix.IbelievethatI
wouldveretainedmoreofmyculturesperspectiveofprivacyifinternethadnotyetexisted.
Everypersonknowswhatprivacyisbecausehidinginformationishumannatureinasense.
Everypersonissaidtohavearighttoprivacy.ThisexactrightisnotlistedintheU.S.
constitution.ThereissomeinstanceswhereprivacyisprotectedintheBillofRights,however
anylawwrittenbackthencannotpossiblybeusedtojustifytheworldtoday.Iftheworldtoday
hadtowritelawsfortheworldinanothertwohundredyears,itwouldbethesameasthelaws
writtentwohundredyearspreviously.Thereisnopossiblewaytopredictwhatwillhappenin
thefuture.AmitaiEtzioni,authorofTheLimitsOfPrivacywrittenallthewaybackin1960,
shareshisideaonthematter.Etzionistatesfromthebook,
Evenifapolicyacceptabletoallconcernedissuddenlyfound...thewholematterbecomes
obsoleteasaresultofnewtechnologicaldevelopments(Etzioni,1960,pg77).
Ifalawiscreatedtoday,itwillnotstayrelevantforthefuture.Thelawsonprivacyasofnowis
justanillusionofsafetythatisatitsseamsthatiscurrentlyrippingapart.Currentlyafew
amendmentsstaterightstoprivacy,butthatwaswrittenovertwohundredyearsago,thelaws
therearewrittenwithnopossibleknowledgethattherewouldbethetoolswehavetoday.
Writtenbefore,theselawsweretryingtoprotectandenforcethecommongoodforpeople.Now,
theynolongerdowhattheydidbeforewithoutbeingchanged.Therearemanyissuesathand
thatarebeingthatpeopletodayalwayswanttofindinformationaboutsomeoneelsebecause
informationissoeasytoaccessandobtain.

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Privacybeforewasmucheasiertomaintainbecausetheworldwasnotconnectedasitis
today.Withtheriseoftheinternet,personalinformationcanbeeasilyfoundandaccessedby
society.Eventhemostprivateinformationcanbefoundandaccessedbyapersoniftheyhadthe
meanstodosobysearchingthroughrecordsandtracking.Thisgenerationofpeopletendto
searchforknowledgethattheyshouldntbeabletoaccesssuchaspersonalinformationsince
thereisalmostnoviablewaytoenforceawaytopunishthesepeople.AccordingtoEtzioni,The
bestwaytopreventnoseyneighbors,formerspouses,fellowemployees,andprivatedetectives
fromperusingonespersonaldata,beitinvestmentrecordsormedicalfiles,istohavesome
reliablemeansofestablishingthattheindividualattemptingtogainaccesstothatinformationis
infactentitledtodoso(Etzioni,1970,125).Thismeansthathavingthatinformationtobe
accessedisgenerallyabletodoso.Manysayitshumannatureforhumanstobeinterestedin
doingsomethingtheyarentsupposedtodo.Bygivingtherightforanyonetohaveaccessto
someonespersonalinformation,thereislessstressonprotectingtheinformationitself.Bill
TancerauthorofClicksupportsourhumannaturetoknowthings,Searchenginesaregreat
resourcesforfindingallkindsofinformation.butsometimesourquestionsareevenmore
basic.Sometimeswejustwanttoknowwhy(Tancer,2008,pg114).Therewillalwaysbe
peoplewhowantinformationonothers.Whentherearepeoplewhocanobtaininformationon
other's,identitytheftispossible.Identitytheftisaseriousissuethatwillchangeinthefutureas
well.
Identityitselfisaveryimportantissuewhenitisconnectedtotheissueofprivacy.Since
informationiseasilyaccessible,identitiesthemselvescanbeeasilystolen.Allthatneedstobe
doneistoobtainthemeanstohavecreateorstealanIDcardandthencropoutthepicture.It

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wouldbeveryhardforanyonetorealizethatthepersonwhoobtainanothersidentityisan
imposterunlessbeingcrossreferencedinadatabasewheretheoriginalpictureisthere.Thereare
anumberofcasestodaywherepeoplehavestolentheidentityofapersonthatpassedaway
whichisapopulartrendinidentitytheft.AconcerningnewsarticlewrittenbySteveBoggan
attemptedtofindpersonalandprivateinformationabouthiswifejustbyaccessingtheinternet.
Afterhiswifeagreed,hewasshockedatwhathecouldfindinunderanhour.Bogganstated,
Muchoftheinformationisnewtome.Andtheusestowhichitcouldbeput
usesIhadntdreamtofuntilthisweekarechilling.Armedwiththis
information,criminalscoulduseheridentitytocommitfraudorresurrectminute
detailsofherpast,hermovementsandfriendshipstolureherintoscamsoreven
dangerousliaisons.Itcouldbeusedtoconherintorevealingherbankdetailsand
creditcardnumbers(Boggan,2010).
Bogganexplainedthathewasabletofindsomuchinformationonhiswifewhowasaownerof
asoftfurnishingsbusiness.Techniquesdisplayedinthearticleexpressedthefactthatthereare
hiddenlinksthatacomputersecurityanalystcaneasilybypassaccessingdatathatwouldbe
hardertofind.Inthefuture,therecouldbeapossibilitythatanyonecanaccessthistypeofdata
thatwillresultinmassidentitytheft.Thebestwaytopreventidentitytheftistohavesomesort
ofidentificationthatisconnectedtoDNAandotherbiometricdata.ThiswasanideathatEtzioni
emphasised,
Reliableidentifierscouldreplacetheexistingpatchworkofpasswordsthatare
oftenforgotten,lost,ormisappropriated.Thesameidentifierscouldbeusedto
ensurethatonesvoteisnotforged,thatonescreditcardisnotmisused,that

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oneschecksarenotcashedbyothers,thatonesstocksarenotsoldwithoutones
authorizationandsoon.Inshort,reliableuniversalidentifiers,especially
biometriconescouldgoalongwaytowardensuringthatpeoplearesecurein
theiridentity,therebyallowingotherstotrustthattheyarewhotheyclaimto
be(Etzioni,1960,pg125).
Withthebiometricidentificationplanthatcanprobablybeeasilyconjuredwiththeamountof
technologywehavetoday,itwouldbedefinitelyagoodwaytopreventidentitytheft.Itwould
behardtoimplementbuteventuallyitwouldbefortheevolutionofprivacy.
Thereisnodoubtthatprivacyisdifferenttodaythanitwasbackthen.Thereareviable
jobsandprofessionsbasedonpeopleobtaininginformationonotherpeoplethroughmeansof
onlineaccess.Informationhasalwaysbeenvaluablethroughouttime,howeveritsjustmuch
easiertoacquirenowadays.Thetruedangerofpeopleexploitingthiseaseofaccessisthe
privacymerchants.Whenitissomeonesjobtosecureinformationonanotherperson,it
becomesworrisomeforthegeneralpublic.Etzioniexpressed,
Ifindthatthisthreattoprivacyarisesnotfromthestate,thevillainthat
championsofprivacytraditionallyfearmost,butratherfromthequestforprofit
bysomeprivatecompanies,privacymerchants.Indeed,Ifindthatthese
corporationsnowregularlyamassdetailedaccountsaboutmanyaspectsofthe
personallivesofmillionsofindividuals(Etzioni,1960,pg9).
Peoplearealwaysmoreseriousaboutwhattheyaredoingifmoneyisontheline.Information
thatcanbesoldtobuyersistrulyaconcerningtrendthatmightevolveinthefuture.Iftheway
privacyishandlednowisnotchangedbythen,secureinformationwillbewaymoreatriskand

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potentiallypeoplewillbedeprivedandhidealltheirinformationinsideaphysicalsafeinsteadof
electronically.Therewillneedtobelawsinthefuturesetinplacetoprohibitsthesellingof
informationespeciallythemedicalrecordsandfinancialaccounts.
Thelawscreatedmustatonefortheevolutionofprivacy.Therehastobelawssetin
placethatcounteractifinformationisstolenandusedinaharmfulway.Etzionisuggested,
Legalremediesmightbeconsidered.Asocietymight,forinstance,introduce
newpenaltiesfortheunauthorizedtransmissionofmedicalinformation.Finally,
thosewhohavesufferedfromundueviolationsoftheirprivacyforinstance,by
losingajobasaresultofsuchactionsmightbeentitledtoreceive
compensation(Etzioni,1960,pg14)
Theevolutionandcreationofnewlawsmustoccurinorderforprivacytoretainitsdefinition.
Thisentirephenomenonisduetothefactthattheworldissomuchmoreconnectedtodaythanit
wasbackthen.
Sincetheworldissomuchmoreconnected,theprivacythateverypersonnomatterwhat
regionoftheworldtheyarefromisreducedaslongastheyareconnected.Itsinawaychanging
everyonesperspectiveonprivacyintoone.Itisasifeverydifferentsocietyislivingrightnext
toeachotherbecauseofthisinternetconnectedworldsinceinformationcanbeaccessedsofast.
AnstatementfromtheAmericanCivilLibertiesUnionsaid,
Withmoreandmoreofourlivesmovingonline,theseintrusionshave
devastatingimplicationsforourrighttoprivacy.Butmorethanjustprivacyis
threatenedwheneverythingwesay,everywherewego,andeveryonewe
associatewitharefairgame.Wehaveseenthatsurveillancewhetherby

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governmentsorcorporationschillsfreespeechandfreeassociation,undermines
afreemedia,andthreatensthefreeexerciseofreligion.Weshouldnthaveto
choosebetweenusingnewtechnologiesandkeepingourpersonalinformation
private(ACLU2015).
Thepointwheretheymadesayingthatsocietyshouldnthavetochoosetostoptheprogressof
technologytokeepinformationprivateisreallyimportant.Technologyisgoingtoadvance
regardlessofwhatpeoplewantandeventuallytherewillbealimit.Howeveritisvery
concerningtothinkaboutallthecapabilitiesthattechnologywillgiveatthatpointintime.Laws
havetobeentirelyrewrittenwhentechnologyhashitapointwhereitsnotevolvingandonly
thenthelawscanremainrelevant.Thewaythattechnologyisheadingseemsthatthereisstilla
longwaytogountilthatlimitwhenitstopsgrowing.Therearestillpeopleintheworldtoday
whodonotpossessaccesstotheinternet,whichseparatesthemfromtherestoftheworld.
Regionsthathaveyettobeconnectedtotheinternetarestillexperiencingprivacy
similarlytowhatitwasbackthen.Forexample,Myanmarisaregionwherealmosteveryoneis
notconnectedtotheinternet.RobertoA.FerdmanisawriterfortheWashingtonPostandstated
inanarticlethat,
Lookingatthepercentageofpeopleincertaincountriesthatstillaren't
connectedtoInternet,showsthatquiteafewplaceshaveverylittleinternetpenetrationatall.In
Myanmar,99.5percentofthepopulationisoffline(Ferdman,2014).Alsoinhisarticle,it
showcasedachartthatdisplayedaboutonlyhalfofChinaspopulationhadaccesstotheinternet.
Thatmeansthatahugepercentageoftheworldstilldoesnothaveaccesstotheinternetasof
now.SuchisthecasewiththecitizensofMyanmar.ThepeopleofMyanmarhavenotbeen
exposedtotheworldasmuchasotherplaceswithaccesstointernet.However,asoftodaythatis

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alreadychanging.Telenor,atelecommunicationscompanyexpresseswhattheywanttodowith
Myanmar,

Telenorbelievestelecommunicationsisatoolthatwillbenefitthepeopleof
Myanmar,providingthemwithaccesstocommunicationsandameansto
exchangeviewsfreely.However,werecognisethatinMyanmarthefocusonthe
governmentpotentiallyaccessingourdataandnetworksisparticularlyimportant
duringthecountrystransitiontowardsmoreopennessanddemocracy.I
naddition
toaddressingtheseissuesacrosstheentireTelenorGroupandinternallywithin
ouroperationsinMyanmar,wearealsoengagingwithstakeholders.Wenotethat
thenewTelecomsLawinMyanmarprovidessomesafeguardsforcitizenrights,
yetwebelieveitisinthedevelopmentofnewregulationsthatimportant
clarificationswillbemade(Telenor2015).
CompanieslikeTelenorarealreadytryingtotakeadvantagesofthisregionwithoutinternet.By
givingthemaccesstointernet,theyareagainmoreconnectedtotheworldandlosetheirown
culturalidentityonprivacy.Howeverfromadifferentperspective,aculturegroupthatisvery
connectedtotheinternetsuchasAmericansfromtheUnitedStatesvaluetheimportanceof
privacy.
PrivacyishardertoobtaininAmericabutthecultureherevaluesprivacyhighlyeven
aftertheeventsof9/11.Peopleofthisculturegrouppossesstheparanoiathatsecureinformation
canbestolenandtheyshouldbeextracarefulwithit.Privacyisanveryimportantconceptfor
theAmericanstomaintain.MaryMadden,awriterofthePewResearchCenterwroteanarticle

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explainingtheimportanceofprivacytotheaverageAmericancitizenintheireverydaylives.
Maddenstated,
ThemajorityofAmericansbelieveitisimportantoftenveryimportantthat
theybeabletomaintainprivacyandconfidentialityincommonplaceactivitiesof
theirlives.Moststrikingly,theseviewsareespeciallypronouncedwhenitcomes
toknowingwhatinformationaboutthemisbeingcollectedandwhoisdoingthe
collecting.Thesefeelingsalsoextendtotheirwishesthattheybeabletomaintain
privacyintheirhomes,atwork,duringsocialgatherings,attimeswhentheywant
tobealoneandwhentheyaremovingaroundinpublic(Madden2015).
EventhoughtheUnitedStatesisheavilyconnectedandreliantontheinternet,privacyisstilla
valuableconcept.Althoughwiththeevolutionoftechnology,thisprivacythatAmericans
treasurewillbecomehardertoholdon.Themoretechnologyevolves,thelessprivatesomething
gets.MaddenconductedasurveytoseewhatAmericansthoughtaboutpeoplebeingableto
accessinformationonthem.Thesurveyreported,
93%ofadultssaythatbeingincontrolof
who
cangetinformationaboutthemis
important74%feelthisisveryimportant,while19%sayitissomewhat
important.90%saythatcontrolling
what
informationiscollectedaboutthemis
important65%thinkitisveryimportantand25%sayitissomewhat
important(Madden2015).
ThisinformationsupportsthefactthatAmericanseventhoughbeingaveryinternetbased
communityemphasizetheimportanceofwhichpeoplecanaccessinformationaboutthemand
whattypeofinformationtheycanaccess.

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Thereisnocertaintythatprivacywillnothavebeenchangedinjusttenyearsfromnow.
Theveryconceptofprivacycanbecompletelydifferentinaverysmallamountoftime.On
April,2015,awriterforWired.conamedKathrynNaveaskedtechnologyexecutivesandother
technologicalresearcherswhereprivacywillbeinthenexttenyears.NickMathewson,theChief
ArchitectofTheTorProjectrespondedwith,
"Governmentshavespentyearsdeclaringthemselvessimultaneouslyprosecurity
andanticryptoantihackerandprospyproprivacyandproidentification.
Meanwhile,corporationshavebeenpromisingcitizensmoreprivacy,advertisers
moretargetingandconsumersmorefeatures.Untilwecanfaceuptothese
contradictions,ourdesireforprivacywillremainunfulfilled(Mathewson2015).
InMathewsonscase,heexplainsthatgovernmentsandcompaniesarepreachingprivacyforall
whileitisnottrue.Privacyisbecomingmoreofaillusionaryshroudthatmakespeoplefeellike
theyareprotectedbutarentinrealityinMathewsonsexpression.Ontheothersideofthe
argument,IanGoldberganassociateprofessoroftheCheritonSchoolofComputerScienceat
theUniversityofWaterloorepliedtothesamequestion,
"Privacyisnotonlyapersonalrightitisalsoabenefittosocietyatlarge:a
societywithoutprivacyisasocietywithoutfreedomorpersonalautonomy.We
arealreadyseeinganincreaseintheuseanddeploymentofencryptionandother
privacytechnologiesasthedefaultwaypeoplecommunicateonline.Iexpectto
seemoreofthistrendinthefuture(Goldberg2015).

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InGoldbergsperspective,hebelievesthatthereishopeforprivacytobecomestrongeras
technologybecomesstronger.Inthefuture,theworldmightmaintainthemaintraitsofprivacy
throughtechnologyitself.
Privacywillhavetochangeinthefutureoritwillbecomenonexistentasitremains.
Thereisnopossiblewaythatprivacyinanypartoftheworldwillexistifitdoesnotchangein
thenextfiftyyears.Bychanging,itwillmeanthatnewlawswillhavetobeimplementedto
counteractinformationtakenorstolen.Bychanging,itwouldalsomeanthattherewillbenew
traitsgainedandlostaspartofevolving.Medicalrecordsmightbecomeaccessibleforeveryone,
butfinancialrecordsmightbeencryptedonimpossiblelevelsofaccessing.Privacyintheend
willeitherevolvewithtechnologyorbedestroyedbyit.

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tofindoutalmosteveryprivatedetailofthiswoman'slife.RetrievedOctober15,2015,from
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texpertsprivatewomanslife.html

Etzioni,A.(1960).
Thelimitsofprivacy
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Ferdman,R.(2014,October2).4.4billionpeoplearoundtheworldstilldonthaveInternet.
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nce/

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ivacyfreedomofexpression/

Tancer,B.(2008).
Click
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