What is Privacy and Why is It Important?

What is Privacy and Why is It Important?

In Western societies, a broad recognition exists of a right to personal privacy. The right to privacy was first defended by the American justices Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis, who defined privacy as “the right to be let alone”. Privacy is a notion that is difficult to define, and many more precise definitions have since been presented. Often, the right to privacy is defined as the right of individuals to control access or interference by others into their private affairs. Philosopher Ferdinand Schoeman has defined it thus: “A person has privacy to the extent that others have limited access to information about him, limited access to the intimacies of his life, or limited access to his thoughts or his body.” Schoeman’s definition shows that the concept of privacy does not only apply to the processing of personal information. It also applies to the observation of and interference with human behaviors and relations, the human body, and one’s home and personal belongings. Privacy is held to be valuable for several reasons. Most often, it is held to be important because it is believed to protect individuals from all kinds of external threats, such as defamation, ridicule, harassment, manipulation, blackmail, theft, subordination, and exclusion. James Moor has summed this up by claiming that privacy is an articulation of the core value of security, meant to protect people from all kinds of harm done by others. It has also been argued that privacy is a necessary condition for autonomy: without privacy, people could not experiment in life and develop their own personality and own thoughts, because they would constantly be subjected to the judgment of others. The right to privacy has also been claimed to protect other rights, such as abortion rights and the right to sexual expression. Privacy moreover has been claimed to have social value in addition to individual value. It has, for instance, been held to be essential for maintaining democracy.

The right to privacy is not normally held to be absolute: it must be balanced against other rights and interests, such as the maintenance of public order and national security. Privacy rights may also vary in different contexts. There is, for example, a lesser expectation of privacy in the workplace or in the public sphere than there is at home. An important principle used in privacy protection in Western nations is that of informed consent: it is often held that citizens should be informed about how organizations plan to store, use or exchange their personal data, and that they should be asked for their consent. People can then voluntarily give up their privacy if they choose.