In the digital era, privacy is a basic right and an essential safeguard against exploitation and manipulation.
Privacy is regarded as a basic human right in many parts of the world. Citizens in the European Union, for example, have the right to dignity. Individuals’ rights to a private life, to act without fear of retaliation, and to preserve control over their personal information are all respected. These features are so important that they are regarded a part of EU society. Because of its historical lessons, Europe and the rest of the globe have enshrined these rights into law.
Without privacy, a society cannot be free. It may appear to be a luxury, yet it is critical to a free and just society’s well-being.
Races and groups of people have been persecuted throughout history because of their qualities, associations, possessions, or beliefs. Governments, big corporations, criminals, and powerful organizations have all sought private information in order to defame individuals and control or manipulate the masses. One of the shields used to protect people from unjust victimization has been privacy.
Invasion of privacy as a weapon
The Axis forces targeted specific ethnicities and religions to the extent of genocide during WWII. Many of those who survived did so because they were able to keep their identities hidden by blending in with the crowd. During the Arab Spring events, we saw people being persecuted for protesting for democracy. Oppressive governments used their digital signatures and whereabouts to track down people who attended public gatherings.
Many governments and employers routinely monitor their citizenry for unwelcome ideas, conversations, or opposition. Violators are then prosecuted or re-educated to conform to the standards set by those in charge. Citizens’ desire to express themselves is successfully suppressed without the advantage of anonymity.
Governments infringe on people’s privacy in order to control or affect them. During the recent Black Lives Matter rallies in the United States, worries over monitoring led IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon to reconsider their participation in supplying facial recognition technology to law enforcement. Whistleblowers who come out to reveal injustice need their privacy to be protected. For this reason, investigative reporters have an ethical obligation to protect the identity of their confidential sources. When people are afraid of being recognized if they report difficulties, harassment and mistreatment can go undetected on a massive scale.
Privacy protects the innocent from oppression
Autocratic regimes, whether at the top levels of government or in the boardrooms of corporations, frequently stifle complaints and fresh ideas that could undermine their authority or expose unethical behavior. Dissension, reporting of issues, presentation of views, constructive resolution of differences, and the right to be heard are all made possible by privacy. By protecting free expression, which is vital to combat injustice, privacy builds a community and offers victims a voice.
In the digital age, privacy protects people from victimization and manipulation in addition to anonymity. To get educated, communicate, conduct business, and build relationships, society has embraced technology. What we learn through local, national, and international news sources has a significant impact on our perspectives and opinions.
Data is the new oil
Our actions and judgments have a significant impact on the digital landscape. Our digital fingerprints can be found all over the internet. They convey a tale about our lives, including where we go, what we do, who we like or detest, and what we think. Every click we make, as well as every file, application, and gadget we use, contributes to them. When that data is combined, it can reveal a wealth of information about a person or group, allowing sophisticated and accurate personas to be created.
This data is frequently utilized to influence people’s opinions and behaviour. Targeted marketing and data-driven advertising are big business because they get people to spend money. Online shopping is a fantastic example. Knowing what people are doing, thinking, talking, consuming, and watching is key. Advertisers who have access to large volumes of private data can develop timely and meaningful communications that entice consumers to engage in desired behaviors.
What else can private data be used for if businesses can persuade consumers to buy products they don’t need? What if we changed people’s minds, who they supported, their political ideas, what should become law, and what they believed? The use of private information to promote, denigrate, or persecute various religions, political organizations, and leaders has a long history.
The way people throughout the world get their news has evolved dramatically in the previous few decades. News and entertainment segments have begun to merge, with embellished facts and opinionated articles being used to affect public opinion. The more personal information is available, the easier it is to persuade, persuade, cajole, or threaten people.
More data = More power
Both benefits and abuses can be hidden behind a cloak of seclusion. The current trend is for citizens’ privacy rights to be established and expanded. By securing sensitive data, this decreases digital victimization, manipulation, and exploitation while also allowing actions that support liberty and free speech.
Without rules, governments and businesses have developed methods that take advantage of the power of obtaining sensitive data and exploiting it for their own gain. Many ethical companies are downshifting their gathering efforts to be more conservative and courteous as a result of new privacy legislation (GDPR, CCPA). They’re also being creative with how they handle, safeguard, and share such information.
Domestic initiatives that residents feel invasive are also being reduced, limited, or terminated by some governments and authorities. Law enforcement authorities, on the other hand, seek to keep their ability to detect and investigate crimes, as well as preserve people’ security and safety.
The right to privacy is also abused. It is the chosen instrument of criminals, allowing them to carry out horrific atrocities against others while remaining undiscovered. It has the potential to hide heinous deeds and facilitate massive fraud, abuse, and terror.
Backdoors and master keys
Digital backdoors, master keys, and encryption methods that acquire access to systems and private information, according to the argument, would aid in the lawful discovery of criminal behavior and in terrorism investigations. Although this appears to be a useful weapon in the fight against criminals, it is a Pandora’s Box.
The issue is two-fold.
Backdoors and master keys don’t limit access for a specific inquiry where probable cause exists, but rather they permit extensive surveillance and data harvesting of an entire population, including law-abiding persons. This infringes on people’s right to privacy and allows for political influence and prosecution. The power to “watch” the population by reading every text, email, message, and internet interaction presents a clear path to abuse. Control and exploitation are serious dangers.
Even for individuals who have no issue to their government having access, we must consider the possibility that cybercriminals and other nation-state actors would seek such backdoors and master-keys. There is no such thing as an infallible system. Criminals would eventually find and use such tools, to the harm of the worldwide digital community. Some backdoors could be worth tens of billions of dollars to the appropriate buyer since they can be used to grab wealth, influence individuals, harm nations, erode independence, and restrict free thought.
It is not about concealing information when it comes to protecting one’s privacy. It’s about being able to communicate with others in ways that challenge the existing quo while remaining free of unwanted influence and tyranny. Individuals, as well as the foundations of a free society, are protected by privacy.
A complicated situation
Privacy is a difficult problem to address, and there is no ideal solution. It’s a fluid scenario that will evolve as public opinion shifts.
Everyone desires a certain measure of privacy, confidentiality, and space. Nobody wants their passwords, family finances, personal details, medical history, location, purchases, or private conversations to be made public. People also dislike being bombarded with spam, phishing, and constant sales calls. It’s not so much about hiding things as it is about restricting access to information to those who have a legitimate need to know.
Too little privacy can jeopardize free expression, liberty, and victimization reporting. It also allows powerful forces to control, manipulate, and victimize people through their digital lives. Too much privacy can enable criminals to thrive and remain undetected by police.
It is necessary to strike a balance.
