The problem of
Privacy in Public
The basis of the problem
Mark Connaughton
Opening Premise
In general, advocates and scholars have been
arguing and fighting for years on behalf of
privacy concerns.
“Intimate and sensitive” information is the
popularly understood focus in regards to
privacy.
Argumentative Basis
Technology has changed the methods and increased
the effectiveness with which people are able to gather
information.
“Our Revolution will not be in gathering data—don’t
look for TV cameras in your bedroom—but in
analyzing the information that is already willingly
shared.” – Larry Hunter, 1985
With this understanding, our approach to protecting
privacy should be revised to consider the nature of
information collected in various public forums.
Information Collection
People storing contact information
Address books
Businesses wanting “accounts” with clients
and consumers
Grocery store loyalty programs
Government Records
Birth, Marriage, Divorce, Property
Information Technology as a Catalyst
Governs new methods of Gathering, Storing,
and Extraction of information.
Message Boards, Social Networking, “Quizzes and
Tests”/Advertising
Databases used to store information
Information is Easily stored, changed, and
transmitted.
Data mining, Querying
Economic and Government Factors
Ease of access is increasing
Transition from paper to electronic documents
Information taken online can be easily integrated with
information collected in the real world.
Certain second parties such as credit bureaus
aggregate a great deal of information by drawing
upon private and government parties alike.
May be used for financial gain by any of these parties
Economic and Government Factors
Secondary harvesting issue viewed by
scholars/policymakers to be unaddressed
Most attention to privacy is given not in deliberate
thought, but after a particular instance in which it’s
lacking has caused a high-profile situation.
Robert Bork, Video Privacy Protection Act
Predominant Approaches
The common view of privacy tends to be widely
understood in a narrow sense.
Protection from intrusion into private realms
Protection from intrusion by the government
Several areas commonly protected
Personal Sphere (Ex. Inside home)
Intimate Information (Ex. Personal Habits)
Special relationships (Lawyer-Client, Doctor-
Patient)
Public information as an issue
Some people willingly give up “private”
information
Collected information can be analyzed to make
inferences
Can be used to intrude into private areas
Current policy does not cover the use and analysis
of information
Case Study: Lotus Marketplace:
Households
Actual/Inferred Information of about 120 million
households
Name, address, home, marital status, gender, age, income,
lifestyle, purchasing habits
Cancelled in 1991 due to 30,000 letters of protest
Executives claim response due to negative feedback, not
conviction of wrongdoing.
Did not set any meaningful precedents.
No common agreement or understanding.
