Computer Concepts: Privacy

Privacy

Privacy is your ability to keep information away from people or organizations whom you don’t want to access that info. For example, you allow your primary care provider to view your medical information but don’t want to let your neighbor Jack view it.

There is a tradeoff between (or a challenge in) sharing data and keeping some data private: while there is a strive to share data, some of it might contain information that is private to someone, so there is a need for filtering this shared, outgoing information.

Current privacy concerns include:

• Can third-party companies access the contents of your emails without consent?
• Should people be tagged on Facebook pictures without consent?
• Can organizations with whom you have service (banks, Google, etc.) share your information with third-party companies? (Organizations may get commission for research, advertising, and other activities that the third parties do with your info.)