What is Privacy?

3 Types of Privacy 1.Accessibility Privacy 2.Decisional Privacy 3.Informational Privacy

Accessibility Privacy Freedom from unwarranted intrusion Inferred from the 4 th Amendment

Decisional Privacy Freedom from external influence in one’s personal choices, plans, decisions – Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) – Roe v. Wade (1973) – in Re Karen Ann Quinlan (late 1970s)

Informational Privacy Control over the flow of our personal information 3 threats: 1.data gathering 2.data exchange 3.data mining

Data Gathering Techniques used to gather information about us, many times without our knowledge or consent Surveillance, employee monitoring, RFID tracking, online tracking, just to name a few

Cookies Used by Web site operators Controversial data collection tool

RFID Used for many things – Automobile keys, cattle, pets, E-ZPass system, passports, credit cards, commercial applications, implanting into humans?, etc.

Government Surveillance “Domestic spying” Does it work?

Data Exchange Computer merging – extracting and combining data from two+ unrelated databases Computer matching – the technology used to merge computerized records to produce matching records

Government Databases Tax records Medical records Marriage and divorce records Property ownership Welfare records School records Motor vehicle records Voter registration records Books checked out of public libraries People with permits to carry firearms Applications for government grant and loan programs Professional and trade licenses Bankruptcy records Arrest records

Data Mining The indirect gathering of personal information through an analysis of patterns in data Can lead to customer profiling Can also be used to protect consumers

Information is a Commodity Organizations sell or exchange information with other organizations. Common way to gather large databases they can mine.

Privacy Online Non-existent? Search engines

National Security Does it justify the reduction in privacy and the erosion of the 4 th Amendment? “The Spy Factory” The USA PATRIOT Act

Monitoring Children For their safety, or an invasion of their privacy?