3Privacy and Personal Protection
And I don't feel safe anymore, oh what a mess.
I wonder who's watching me now. Who? The IRS?!
—Kennedy “Rockwell” Gordy
The justifications for institutional privacy, as discussed in Chapters 1 and 2, are largely disingenuous, for the reasons discussed there. But most individuals are more concerned with their own personal privacy than secrecy granted to organizations (although people are often anxious that their privacy is being harvested and used by institutions as opposed to other individuals). When surveyed specifically on the subject, people consistently respond that they have no control over their own data and that they are concerned with losing personal privacy.1
What is it that people worry about, in terms of losing privacy, and are those fears viable?
One of the most obvious individual concerns related to privacy is financial protection; if you know my credit card number, my PIN, my login data, my bank account number, the combination to my bike lock, the times I'm not at home, and where I keep the key to my safe deposit box, you can take all my money and all my possessions.
Theft is probably chief among the perceived threats to personal security; someone taking what is yours is a direct individual harm (and, beyond the obvious financial loss, the immeasurable harm of the sensation of violation and exploitation is very real, if not tangible). Many people consider privacy essential for preventing theft. Moreover, privacy or secrecy regarding ...
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