Companies Private Policies : A Legal Document Essay

Concerns regarding the loss of personal privacy were the premier public issues to gain significant public attention during the period when computers were initially developed, and personal information database started to be used by corporations

Data Protection Act 1998 – gives individuals the right to know what information is held about them, and those that processes personal information must comply with eight principles, which makes sure that personal information is fairly and lawfully processed; processed for limited purposes; adequate, relevant and not excessive; accurate and up to date; not kept for longer than is necessary; processed in line with your rights; secure; not transferred to other countries without adequate protection;

As human beings and citizens of the world, everyone values their privacy. It is a right that is often looked over and taken for granted by most. Since the beginning of time, there have been concerns about individuals’ rights to privacy and their personal information remaining confidential. Our founding fathers had concerns about this which is why, “…this right has developed into

Company "privacy statements" and "End User License Agreements"(EULAs) also change the expectation of privacy in ways that may not be clear without extended reading [12]. In the case of a merger between DoubleClick and Abacus Direct, in which DoubleClick was acquiring Abacus Direct, what was considered a legal use of data for each company individually constituted a breach of privacy if combined [13]. As the expectation of privacy is based on public perception and understanding, continuing technological advancement and the precedents set by court rulings on cases involving privacy will alter these expectations in the

2. A PRIVACY POLICY must be developed to cover all contingencies that may occur. Keeping records safe is

Privacy Act 1988’s purpose is to standardize how personal information is collected, stored, used, disclosed and how this information is accessed. There’s 13 Australian Privacy Principals that relate to Government and Private sectors handling information. Stipulations for credit reporting, and health and medical research professions accessing and managing information when unable to seek consent.

As a growing topic of discussion, privacy in our society has stirred quite some concern. With the increase of technology and social networking our standards for privacy have been altered and the boundary between privacy and government has been blurred. In the article, Visible Man: Ethics in a World Without Secrets, Peter Singer addresses the different aspects of privacy that are being affected through the use of technology. The role of privacy in a democratic society is a tricky endeavor, however, each individual has a right to privacy. In our society, surveillance undermines privacy and without privacy there can be no democracy.

Personal interest in the right to privacy has intensified in recent years along with the rapid development of new technologies. A century later, these concerns remain, but many others have joined them. Advances in information and communications technology have increased our ability to collect, store and transmit data about individuals. While these advances could be considered useful, some see them as a situation where anyone can watch and record the actions of every individual, and where the individual has lost control over information about herself and thus over her very life. As a reaction to these concerns, new regulations have been formulated to define the rights of individuals and the limits on the use of technology with respect to personal information.

The Privacy Rule – This policy ensures patient have the right to access and change the information in their EHR. It also ensures providers and EHR vendors implement organizational, administrative and physical safeguards to ensure confidentiality and privacy of patient information. In addition, this rule provides a patient the right to access his/her records and request changes at any given time.

1. LEGAL RIGHTS 2. INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS 3. THE RIGHT OF PRIVACY 4. PRIVACY AND TECHNOLOGY

Technology is constantly upgrading everyday and it creates unique challenges for individuals privacy rights while there are regulators looking to preserve both privacy rights and technological innovation. For awhile now society has been struggling on how to balance privacy rights and emerging technologies. For example, early as 1890, Newspapers and Photographs were on the rise and legal scholars called for added privacy protections, including enshrining those rights in criminal law. As people have a right to protect their privacy, it is still a struggle while promoting innovation in this fast increasing technology world we live in today.

On a more global level, international agreements such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights protect the privacy of individuals around the world. We see that in order to protect the fundamental privacy rights of individuals, laws have been established on both local and global scales. Therefore, it follows that laws are also necessary to protect the information of individuals in the electronic environment.

The words, “Arguing that you don’t care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say” were said by Edward Snowden who is a computer professional in America. Similarly, the essays “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty,” “Web Users Get as Much as They Give,” and “Facebook Is Using You” from Nicholas Carr, Jim Harper, and Lori Andrews respectively points out that the internet privacy is good and bad. However, the articles by Carr and Andrews are based on the negative side of the internet privacy, which means that the internet privacy is not good. On the other hand, Harper’s article is based on the positive side of the internet privacy, which means that the internet privacy is good and scary, but people need to be careful of their own information and browsing histories, and websites. Jim Harper’s essay is more relevant and reasonable than the Nicholas Carr and Lori Andrews’s essays. However, Harper seems more persuasive to readers because he believes that the internet is good if people use it in a right way, whereas Carr and Andrews believe that the internet is not good at all.

The concern about privacy on the Internet is increasingly becoming an issue of international dispute. ?Citizens are becoming concerned that the most intimate details of their daily lives are being monitored, searched and recorded.? (www.britannica.com) 81% of Net users are concerned about threats to their privacy while online. The greatest threat to privacy comes from the construction of e-commerce alone, and not from state agents. E-commerce is structured on the copy and trade of intimate personal information and therefore, a threat to privacy on the Internet.

With the advent of mobile phones, iPad and other smart technology, accessing information across the web has become very easy. You can sit at home and pay your phone bills, or talk to someone from across the world. Along with these benefits, it has also become easier to get access to information that would otherwise be restricted. In recent years, debates have taken place regarding the concern of the privacy of information that is uploaded on the internet, or that is taken from it. This research paper aims at comparing the controversies that surround the concept of privacy in the digital age.