Ethics Reader- cyberethics ch42

Privacy and data protection are among the prime problems of the information society. Many of us are concerned about the fact that electronic data concerning us can be used for purposes beyond our control.

Privacy therefore has a close relationship with security. If data on us is not secure then this can threaten privacy. This line of argument suggests that privacy requires security. A somewhat contradictory argument would be that, in order for security to be guaranteed, we need to limit privacy. If all information about everyone were known, then security threats would be much easier to address and sanction. In this scenario, privacy and security seem to be mutually exclusive. This confusing and contradictory starting point or a discussion of the relationship between privacy and security is exacerbated by a number of aspects. It is not really clear what constitutes privacy, nor do we have a generally agreed-upon definition of security. There is also no agreement on how these to concepts are to be protected (by ethics, the law, markets, or other mechanisms) or who should assume responsibility for them (the state, the individual, organisations, etc.) (cf. Stahl, 2004a).