Yesterday I had the fortune to attend a discussion about Privacy post 9/11. We started our time together by watching a segment of the PBS publication Frontline called “Are We Safer?” which was a short overview of the merge of the 17 different intelligence agencies that became the Department of Homeland Security. The documentary talked about many of the different methodologies that are used in the effort to prevent terrorist attacks. These methods include but are certainly not limited to fusion centers, a merging point for many sets of data collected around the country, as well as cameras on police cars that take pictures of car’s license plates which are then crossed checked for any suspicious activity and the extensive use of security cameras. Included in the segment was an interview with Michael Hayden, former director of both the CIA, and the NSA, who said that even he does not have a full understanding of the scope of all of the work that the intelligence community does in the United States and all of its programs and technologies.
When we finished watching the documentary we immediately started discussing the definition of privacy. One of the really difficult parts of discussing “privacy” is that it is a term and a concept that is very difficult to define. The Old Oxford Dictionary defines “privacy” as “The state or condition of being alone, undisturbed, or free from public attention, as a matter of choice or right; seclusion; freedom from interference or intrusion.” and “Absence or avoidance of publicity or display; secrecy, concealment, discretion; protection from public knowledge or availability. Now rare, or merging with sense 1.”
In practice, it is not that easy to come up with a working definition and our group really struggled with this. One member of the group said that simply put “privacy is a person’s right to be left alone”. At the end of the night, we never seemed to come to a consensus on the definition.
One thing that we did agree on was that privacy is not a definite thing but it is evolving. It seems much different now than it would have been before wide spread use of the Internet and cell phones. What is interesting is that everyone in the room, with the exception of the professor, grew up using the Internet and cell phones and post 9/11.
One of the big issues with privacy today is the Internet. It is fair to say that most people have some sort of information about themselves on the web because most people who use the Internet have some sort of online profile whether that be an email account, a Facebook, a Twitter, Linked In , a blog etc.… Many of us have multiple profiles online where we add and store information about ourselves. The reality seems to be that no matter what privacy settings we use, the things that are written, the pictures that are posted are still accessible to so many people, even people that you are not connected to directly. Is this an invasion of privacy if people who you do not authorize are still able to see your pictures on Facebook? Many people will argue that it is because they want to be able to control who sees the content through privacy settings. However, this is about a deliberate choice to post a picture on Facebook or write something on Twitter and publish it on the Internet, which is a very public space. It seems that if people were that concerned about privacy then they would make the conscience decision to not post those things online, which could be considered public property, because it can be accessed by anyone who has a computer and Internet access. Does that mean that people should go onto Facebook and steal your pictures? No. If they do, does it count as an invasion of privacy? Well, the choice was made to post it on a website in the first place, so that picture isn’t really private anymore.
The trouble comes more so with search engines. If I am looking for information on a certain topic but not making the choice to publically post my search on Facebook or Twitter for all of my “friends” to see, should Google or Yahoo be allowed to save that data and then sell it to companies who will then send me advertising junk? Is that an invasion of privacy or is that the price I pay for using their service? Maybe I have a question about something personal, like a health condition for example, and I want to know more about it so I type my question into Google, because that is the fastest, most convenient way of getting information today, but then Google knows that I searched about that health condition I don’t know who are they going to share that information with. Why do engines like Google even need to keep all of that information and what do they do with it? I do feel that this is in some sense a breech of privacy and yet, I still, like many others, make the choice to use Google every single day, multiple times a day. If we consider the second definition provided above, where “protection from public knowledge and availability” is part of the definition of privacy then I would say that in keeping my search history and selling it to people, Google is invading my privacy.
Of course one cannot talk about privacy without talking about Edward Snowden. I do not claim to have extensive knowledge of him or his actions, however, I think it is pretty well known that he released documents and information that revealed to the public that the NSA listens to/ records our phone calls (I am sure that is a gross simplification of what happened but I’m going with simple here). I would say that there is no question that this compromises privacy because if I am talking to my mom, or anyone else for that matter, on the phone, I don’t want someone or something recording that conversation. Then again, the NSA is doing this in order to help protect Americans from a repeat of the 9/11 attacks, not because they are interested in the gossip I am telling my mom or the grade I got on my Econ exam.
So what is the balance between safety and privacy? Should the NSA be legally allowed to listen to our phone calls in the name of public safety? My first thought is that I don’t care too much because I don’t have anything to hide so if they want to listen they can. The more I think about it though, it’s creepy to know that our phone calls are recorded and kept in some sort of database. Although that data is probably not open to the public per say it is open to people that I don’t know and will never know and if they chose they could have access to my words through my phone calls.
In the end, I don’t know where the balance is and I don’t think anyone does really as the concept of privacy is ever evolving.
The issue of privacy in today’s world is very complex and multifaceted. It is also something that I truthfully have not given much thought to. However, after last night’s discussion I am certainly more aware of it and I think it will always be in the back of my mind as I try and figure out for myself in this day of super advanced technology where the lines lie and what I really think the word privacy means and the implications for the future.
Documentary: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/are-we-safer/
Dictionary: http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/151596?redirectedFrom=Privacy+#eid