Chapter 5: Information Privacy

Privacy is vital for personal growth, responsibility, freedom, and self-expression.

The idea that a person's home is their sanctuary, originating from property rights and evolving through legal tradition.

A US constitutional amendment that limits the government's ability to quarter soldiers in private homes.

Privacy is the right to be left alone, as proposed by Warren and Brandeis.

Criticisms suggest that defining privacy as 'the right to be let alone' might be too narrow, leaving out covert spying.

The opposing argument is that the concept might be too broad, possibly encompassing actions like assault, making it challenging to establish boundaries.

Defining privacy precisely proves difficult; critics argue that violations often stem from infringement of other rights.

Privacy, while not a natural right, is a right that benefits society and is recognized by rational people.

Modern life, with strangers and individual travel, is different from past life with extended family and public entertainment.

Establishing a reputation in a world of strangers reduces privacy but may be necessary for smooth interaction.

Parents secretly monitor a nanny using a camera, raising concerns about privacy.

Applying rule utilitarianism to the nanny monitoring case, the conclusion is that the action is probably wrong because the harm of monitoring might outweigh the benefits.

Social contract theory suggests that secretly monitoring a nanny is wrong because it violates the reasonable expectation of privacy within one's own home.

A philosophical approach to evaluate actions by considering if a rule, when universalized, would still be valid.

An ethical perspective that analyzes actions based on the character traits and motivations of the individual.

Information about incidents or actions reported to government agencies, intended for public knowledge.

Data held by private entities like credit card companies, loyalty programs, or social media.

The impact of collecting personal data from various sources, like social media, medical records, or technology (e.g., RFID tags, mobile apps).

Small chips implanted in dogs' ears containing owner information for easier identification and return in case of loss.

Radio-frequency identification tags that can be used to store medical information or act as digital payment cards in humans.

Many mobile applications collect user location data and share it with advertisers, potentially selling it to data brokers.

A company that specializes in analyzing data collected from mobile applications, accessing data from thousands of apps.

People can login to apps with their Facebook accounts, giving app developers access to associated Facebook profile information.

An in-car communication system providing emergency, security, navigation, and diagnostic services.

Data recorders in cars that store information during an incident, including speed, braking, and seatbelt status for potential investigation.

Digital versions of medical records that are easier to share among caregivers, leading to faster and lower-cost healthcare.

Records of an individual's assets, debts, and payment history, sold to lenders.

Companies that collect and sell information about individuals, often connecting from online and off-line data.

Advertising sent to people most likely to buy a product.

Identifying voters most likely to support a candidate for political campaigns.

Using social network data for decision-making; such as promotions, police work, or credit worthiness evaluation.

Options on Facebook to control who can see your activities and information.

The right to control access to personal information.

Computers, databases, and the internet, which make collecting, sharing, and using information easier, but also raise privacy concerns.

The potential harm or benefit associated with changes in how personal information is handled.

The process of analyzing large sets of data to discover patterns and insights.

Privacy involves the idea of access - both physical and knowledge-based.

Actions that infringe upon a person's ability to control their personal information.

A method of ethical evaluation that examines if a rule would remain valid if everyone followed it.

Ethical assessment based on the character and motivations of the individual.

Information reported to government agencies for public knowledge.

Data held by private companies, like credit card details or loyalty program data.

Impact of collecting data from various sources, considering privacy concerns.

Situation involving secret monitoring of a nanny, raising privacy questions.

Tiny chips implanted in dogs' ears, containing owner information, enabling easier identification and return if lost.

Radio-frequency identification tags that can store medical information or function as digital payment cards in humans.

Many mobile apps gather location data and potentially sell it to advertisers or data brokers.

A company analyzing data from thousands of mobile apps; they have access to vast app-user data.

Using a Facebook account to log in to other apps, granting app developers access to linked profile information.

In-car system providing emergency, security, navigation, diagnostic, and communication services.

Data recorders in cars, storing driving data (speed, brakes, seatbelts) for investigations after accidents.

Digital medical records, easily shared among caregivers, improving and reducing medical costs.

Users can control how much information Google saves about their activities, including search queries, location data, contacts, calendar, voice recordings, and YouTube activity.

A Google feature letting users pause the collection of certain personal information like search queries and location data.

Information about where, when and how long users have accessed places, stored in Google.

A data mining technique that predicts a user's preferences based on data from many other users with similar preferences.

A data sharing agreement where businesses can only share data if a consumer gives explicit permission.

A data sharing agreement where businesses can share data until a user forbids it.

The question of who owns and controls details of consumer transactions: buyer, seller, or both.

Target used data mining to identify pregnant women and sent them marketing materials relevant to pregnancy, even for unrelated products.

Records of a person's financial history, including assets, debts, and payment habits, sold to potential lenders.

Companies that collect and sell information about individuals, often combining online and offline data sources.

Advertising sent to individuals most likely to be interested in a product or service based on data profiles.

Identifying specific demographics of voters likely to support a particular candidate in political campaigns using voter data and other personal information.

Using data from social networks to make decisions, from targeted marketing to police investigations or creditworthiness assessments.

Options available on Facebook to control who can see your posts, activities, and profile information, limiting public access to your private data.