I thought I'd like to follow-up on the class discussion of keeping our privacy rights safe. I am not a proponent for, "If you want your privacy, stay home." I do realize that when I leave my house I am under extreme scrutiny from the outside world. We are videoed in our cars, shopping, and walking down the street. We aren't even safe on our cell phones when talking, texting, or searching the web. GPS can keep a record of our movements around the world. So we are left with the question, "How much is too much?"
When it comes to our privacy on the Internet, there is a lot room for what is considered private and public. People can track every move you make while you are on the Internet, it is when they begin to share that information that privacy laws come into play. We are under surveillence while we are on the Internet by our government, under the Homeland Security Act, which is supposed to protect our security from terrorism. But, what is done with the information when it is not pertinent to society's protection.
Health information is another thing. I would want my doctor to have all the information, regarding my health in order to save my life. Do I want my health insurer to have all that information, NO. But, they have all that from a trip to the doctor, to a procedure done at the hospital, through the billing part of my health coverage, that they pay for. I am only concerned about what they do with the information.
You have a lot to think about the future, when it comes to your privacy and information about you.
Privacy rights are a sticky situation. As we are moving more into the information age, we are finding that information, about absolutely everyone and everything, is so much easier to get. It seems like corporations are in a position to get personal information about an individual easier than even that individual can. I don't thing that information gathering is always a bad thing, but there needs to be limits somewhere to protect at least some of our rights to privacy.
ReplyDeletePrivacy rights are unfortunately....completely based on personal opinion. During our in class discussion on Tuesday someone could present a perfectly good argument and no more than a second after, another person could counter their argument. And again, everyone's ideas are based on opinion, which is not a bad thing but that is what makes privacy such a difficult situation to assess. Medical records, credit card information, personal information; in my mind should all be kept private unless a person gives someone permission to access those types of records. Now a person sitting right next to me may disagree with perfectly good reason so I'll ask the question...how can we appropriately, responsibly, and effectively make privacy laws if the subject matter is based on opinion?
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