Information Privacy

Information Privacy

Information Technology Erodes PrivacyCollection, exchange, combination, and distribution of information easier than ever, lessens privacy

You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.

We will consider how we leave an electronic trail of information behind us and what others can do with this info

Defining PrivacyPrivacy related to notion of accessAccessPhysical proximity to a personKnowledge about a personPrivacy is a zone of inaccessibilityPrivacy violations are an affront to human dignityToo much individual privacy can harm societyWhere to draw the line?Harms of PrivacyCover for illegal or immoral activitiesIgnored people on societys fringesBenefits of privacyFreedom to be yourselfDevelopment of loving, trusting, caring, intimate relationships

Question: Is there an natural right to privacy?

Privacy natural rightPrivacy rights stem from property rights: a mans home is his castleCoercive Acts before American Revolution led to 3rd Amendment to U.S. ConstitutionSamuel Warren and Louis Brandeis: People have the right to be let aloneJudith Jarvis Thomson: Privacy rights overlap other rightsConclusion: Privacy is not a natural right, but it is a prudential right

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Question: Do People Have the Right to Be Left Alone?

Princess Diana deemed driver was drunk by alleged paparrazi was to blame4

Privacy and TrustPerhaps modern life is actually more private than life centuries agoMost people dont live with extended familiesAutomobile allows us to travel aloneTelevision v. public entertainmentChallenge: we now live among strangersRemedy: establishing reputationsOrdeal, such as lie detector test or drug testCredential, such as drivers license, key, ID card, college degreeEstablishing reputation is done at the cost of reducing privacy

Case Study: New ParentsSullivans have a baby girlBoth work; they are concerned about performance of full-time nannyPurchase program that allows monitoring through laptops camera placed in family roomThey do not inform nanny she is being monitored

Rule UtilitarianIf everyone monitored nannies, it would not remain a secret for longConsequencesNannies would be on best behavior in front of cameraMight reduce child abuse and parents peace of mindWould also increase stress and reduce job satisfaction of child care providersMight result in higher turnover rate and less experienced pool of nannies, who would provide lower-quality careHarms appear greater than benefits, so we conclude action was wrong

Social Contract TheoryIt is reasonable for society to give people privacy in their own homesNanny has a reasonable expectation that her interactions with baby inside home are privateSullivans decision to secretly monitor the nanny is wrong because it violates her privacy

Kantian EvaluationImagine rule, An employer may secretly monitor the work of an employee who works with vulnerable peopleIf universalized, there would be no expectation of privacy by employees, so secret monitoring would be impossibleProposed rule is self-defeating, so it is wrong for Sullivans to act according to the rule

Virtue EthicsSullivans are responsible for well-being of their daughterChose nanny through concern for baby: characteristic of good parentsDaughter is truly defenseless, unable to communicate with themDecision to monitor can be viewed as characteristic of good parentsWould also expect them to cease monitoring once assured nanny is doing well

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Disclosing InformationPublic record: information about an incident or action reported to a government agency for purpose of informing the publicExamples: birth certificates, marriage licenses, motor vehicle records, criminal records, deeds to propertyPrivate RecordsExamples: Credit card purchases, Purchases made with loyalty cards, Voluntary disclosures, Posts to social network sites

Computerized databases and Internet have made public records much easier to access

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Data Gathering and Privacy ImplicationsFacebook tagsFacebook allows users to tag people who are on their list of friendsAbout 100 million tags added per day in FacebookFacebook uses facial recognition to suggest name of friend appearing in photoDoes this feature increase risk of improper tagging?Enhanced 911 servicesCell phone providers in United States required to track locations of active cell phones to within 100 metersAllows emergency response teams to reach people in distressWhat if this information is sold or shared?Rewards or loyalty programsShoppers who belong to stores rewards program can save money on many of their purchasesComputers use information about buying habits to provide personalized serviceShopRite computerized shopping carts with pop-up adsDo card users pay less, or do non-users get overcharged?

RFID tagsRFID: Radio frequency identificationAn RFID tag is a tiny wireless transmitterManufacturers are replacing bar codes with RFID tagsContain more informationCan be scanned more easilyIf tag cannot be removed or disabled, it becomes a tracking device Public recording DevicesPublic Cameras in CitiesPolice Body CamsCookiesCookie: File placed on computers hard drive by a Web serverContains information about visits to a Web siteAllows Web sites to provide personalized servicesPut on hard drive without users permissionYou can set Web browser to alert you to new cookies or to block cookies entirely

Social Network AnalysisCollect information from social networks to inform decisionsPolice use Facebook and Twitter posts to deploy officers on big party nightsBanks combine social network data with credit reports to determine creditworthiness

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Credit ReportsExample of how information about customers can itself become a commodityCredit bureausKeep track of an individuals assets, debts, and history of paying bills and repaying loansSell credit reports to banks, credit card companies, and other potential lendersSystem gives you more choices in where to borrow moneyPoor credit can hurt employment prospectsQuestion: How is this different from Any company selling/using your information?

Instagrams Proposed Change to Terms of ServiceLate 2012: Instagram announced changesPrivacy policyTerms of serviceLegal experts: Instagram and Facebook would have right to use photos in ads without permissionInstagram CEO: New policy misunderstoodChanged advertising section of terms of service agreement back to original version

Data MiningSearching records in one or more databases, looking for patterns or relationshipsCan be used to create profiles of individualsAllows companies to build more personal relationships with customersExamples: Amazon, NetflixQuestion: Who owns the data?

Opt-in: Consumer must explicitly give permission before the organization can share infoOpt-out: Organization can share info until consumer explicitly forbid itOpt-in is a barrier for new businesses, so direct marketing organizations prefer opt-out

Collaborative FilteringForm of data miningAnalyze information about preferences of large number of people to predict what one person may preferExplicit method: people rank preferencesImplicit method: keep track of purchasesUsed by online retailers and movie sites

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Data mining ExamplesLotus Development Corporation developed CD with information on 120 million AmericansPlanned to sell CD to Targeted small businesses that wanted to create mailing lists based on various criteria, such as household incomeDue to 30,000 complaints about privacy Lotus dropped plans to sell CD

In 2011 two malls recorded movement of shoppers by tracking locations of cell phonesHow much time people spend in each store?Do people who shop at X also shop at Y?Are there unpopular areas of mall?Small signs informed shoppers of studyAfter protest, mall quickly halted study