New Information Technologies example essay topic

We might assume that nothing new could be said about the issue of privacy beyond the basic notion that it is something secluded from the inclusion of others, a virtue and right that every citizen of a democratic society might possess. However, if that were actually the case then we would not see our culture involved in debates about the issues regarding privacy and anonymity as they relate to new information technologies. The primary reason for such concerns is that information has become a commodity in what we have come to know as the 'information age'. With the advent of new technologies; particularly that of the Internet this information can be sold and exchanged quite easily.

Before the use of widespread computer technologies, our personal information had no real value beyond its immediate transaction. When data and information was provided by a citizen or consumer it had no secondary reuse. However, due to advances in technology and data retrieval systems and transactions, information has been given commercial value, especially with regards to the issue of who owns and controls this information. The information age has been a period that has allowed rights to privacy to beo cme seriously jeopardized by new information technologies. Richard A. Spinello, has defined two distinct phases to the systematic erosion of information privacy. The first he calls the 'data base phase'.

The emergence of sophisticated data base technology in the early eighties made it possible to store and retrieve large amounts of information efficiently and economically. During this time, considerable amounts of personal data were transfered to computerized records, which have been stored on record. Another implicatory in th invasion of privacy has been what is described as a 'network phase', in which many individuals and organizations are relying heavily on digital networks such as the Internet to help conduct their personal business. The Internet specifically has facilitated the integration of different databases and allowed data to become completely mobile, and easily retreived by anyone.

The use of such networks has expanded the capability of electronically pinpointing an individual or checking up of personal backgrounds by following electronic trails of information. There has become a realm where immediate on-line personal data is available to anyone with the simplest personal computer system. The implications on individual privacy are great; we have become completely transparent to anyone who wants to take a little time to investigate one's background. What becomes a more important question is what types of information can be deemed as public and private, and as this information is stored who may legally claim access to it. It has been consistently maintained by members of our soic ety that a right to privacy an anonymity is a necessity, a basic natural right, however in the information age, privacy is not a simple concept that can be easily defined. Still, with respect to a general definition of privacy the basic right to be 'left alone' is rather broad.

Of most concern in our current culture is the need to define and explore what is deemed as 'information privacy' with direct connections to technological advances. For Spinello, this is simply defined as "the right to exert control over the fate of one's personal information (name, address, telephone number, financial background etc. ), and the right to limit the accessibility of information known about oneself". In the context of information technologies and specifically the Internet; accessibility and use of such technologies can violate and inhibit our personal privacy. Our private information may be violated because our personal data may be acquired by individual without permission; when this occurs according to Spinello, such a person may use it to excercise control over a person's activities. For example; companies with detailed knowledge of an individual's purchasing habits may subject them to manipulative promotions, while a prospective employer may gather sensitive information about a future employee's medical histories, financial records, etc.

As a result of this there becomes a new found concern; a developing relationship between privacy and freedom in the new information age. It becomes difficult to exercise guaranteed personal liberties when our actions are on display and our intimate information can be accessed in the public domain, furthermore they can become accessed without our knowledge or consent. If our right to privacy continues to decrease in the wake of technology's continual progress so too will our basic freedoms. Such concerns provide the basic notions behind already legislated laws governing individual rights to privacy, however there are not many specific laws protecting privacy and regulations that offer protection of privacy that can be adequately applied to technological advances. Spinello argues that there has been a general failure on behalf of North American policy makers to fashion sufficient protections for privacy rights in the wake of technology's expanding capablitites.

He asserts that privacy has been consistently eclipsed by other values such as economic efficency and crime control as well as technological progress. This becomes the central argument when discussing privacy, anonymity and technolgoy in the wake of an emerging invasion of personal rights and freedoms. Legislative policies have not focused on individuals and their previously defined rights, and has not separated social intersts and technologies that can serve to both provide productive functions in all societal institutions but also serve to invade personal freedoms. This returns to Spinello's argument that the issue of privacy and technology gets continually redefined, as the idea of privacy becomes subordinate to other worthy ideas such as economic efficency, crime control, and government productivity as a collective good for all citizens. What we have become to witness at the level of public opinion is a desire for privacy and also maximum data and information as it deals with new technolgoy. It seems that such digital developments have been the price of advanced sytems of information and policy makers have used its efficiencies to monitor and link institutions involved in data collection.

Privacy, is a collective value which we all share, as well all citizens have similar levels of privacy in the eyes of government institutions. We provide personal data consistently, and legislative-information based relationships have always existed, they are voluntary but also necessary for the well being of individuals and the well being of society itself. However, our personal information as it is embedded in network information systems is easily available; they must be controlled at an institutional level as personal data is an individual notion but becomes a social concern when paired with new technologies. Although privacy is comparable to many social goods such as technological advancement, it is much more complicated, as it is applied with the diverse and complex uses of our personal data.

This complexity makes if difficult to acheive a sustainable uniform level of privacy for all. Protection of our personal privacy on the Internet is an intricate matter as it is necessary for social goods, but its invasion can affect so many areas of our lives. Most citizens understand the assumption that to participate in our social, economic and technological systems they must relinquish some of their personal data, and they are willing to acknowledge that many commercial and government organizations have a legitimate need for that data, what is obviously objected to however, is the secondary uses of that data without permission as it is residing somewhere in cyberspace beyond their control. Furthermore, participation in such technologies by their very function poses a vulnerable situation for its users. As Spinello argues, "these misuses of information should not be a necessary cost of participating in society, and pariticpating in technologies that by their very nature have implications on their privacy". In an economy that is now dependent on information dominated by powerful corporate and government interests the value of privacy must become a priority and be given the respect it deserves.

The debate about privacy and its focus on its significance as a public value as it is compromised for the sake of technological value should be of utmost importance as the need to legislate policies on network systems such as the Internet continues. More importantly as information is continually transmitted and transferred on such systems, most organizations that possess such information regard it as their own private property after it is collected. The key question that is again raised is who is given rights to property in personal data, especially how it is transferred and stored in new technological networks Just like other forms of property, we see how information can have monetary value, as well as how it can be produced, upgraded, shared and transferred to others. When we see that personal data has an appreciable value and should be classified as property, then it beocmes clear that there exists a powerful link between the issues of property and privacy and how this should be disseminated on networks such as the Internet. For Spinello, a uniform level of privacy must be established, and the common value of privacy must be balanced with other other social objectives and how they relate to technological advances.

Since privacy is a common and public value it should be defined as the right of society to require institutions and individuals connected to network systems to use information in a manner that is more respectful of the shared intersts in that information. Technology at this stage must be able to distinguish between social interests and personal anonymity for citizens, corporate needs versus personal identity, and corporate mergers versus group privacy. Privacy, of maximum concern with the infusion of high technology bonded by network systems will sink back to being a debated and contested issue, and recapture the thoughts and principles of basic ethics and constitutional law as it had when it became a virtue in the first place. Information technology is another classic case of advances and breakthroughs that can be used for constructive or destructive purposes. It is the terribly slow pace of policy makers and the amazingly fast pace of information technology in American society that has caused the greatest tensions and deserves the closest scrutiny.

Bibliography

Spinello, Richard A. (1998). Privacy Rights In The Information Economy. Business Ethics Quarterly..