This document provides a listing of privacy issues that confront society, and
that the Foundation addresses. It is far from complete, but substantial enough
to be useful. Where possible, links are provided to background papers or resources.
Additional resources are available, as follows:
The issues are listed within the following dimensions
of privacy:
Privacy
of the Person
This is the interest that individuals have in protecting their physical selves
from interference by other people and organisations. It is sometimes referred
to as 'bodily privacy'. Topics include:
- compulsory immunisation
- blood transfusion without consent
- compulsory provision of samples of body fluids and body tissue
- compulsory sterilisation
- biometric identifiers
- arbitrary arrest and detention, and kidnapping
- brainwashing
- torture
Privacy
of Personal Behaviour
This is the interest that individuals have in being able to behave however
they wish, without undue interference by other people and organisations. This
relates to all aspects of behaviour, but especially to sensitive matters, such
as sexual preferences and habits, political activities and religious practices,
both in private and in public places. It includes what is sometimes referred
to as 'media privacy'. Topics include:
- mail surveillance (mail covers)
- audio surveillance (eavesdropping, directional microphones, audio bugs)
- telephone surveillance (taps)
- visual surveillance (observation, keyhole cameras, airborne and satellite
cameras), including photography and privacy
- video surveillance / CCTV
- harassment / paparazzi
- unjustified publication of personal data
- home intrusions (e.g. 'peeping toms', intrusive buildings)
- workplace
surveillance
- web-usage surveillance
- denial of anonymity
- identity theft (correctly used to refer only to wholesale takeover
of a person's identity, resulting in gross inconvenience to them)
Privacy
of Personal Communications
This is the interest that individuals have in being able to communicate among
themselves, using various media, without routine monitoring of their communications
by other persons or organisations. This includes what is sometimes referred
to as 'interception privacy'. Topics include:
- audio surveillance (eavesdropping and voice-recording)
- telephone surveillance (telephonic interception and recording, and access
to telco call records)
- calling number display
(CND) and calling-line identification (CLI)
- ISP-usage surveillance
- email surveillance
- e-chat surveillance (incl. IRC, ICQ, web-chat, instant messaging)
- denial of anonymity
Privacy
of Personal Data
This is the interest that individuals have in data about themselves. People
expect that data about them should not be automatically available to other individuals
and organisations; and that, even where data is possessed by another party,
the individual must be able to exercise a substantial degree of control over
that data and its use. This is sometimes referred to as 'information privacy';
but sometimes that term is used to encompass communications privacy as well.
Topics include:
- Data-Handling Processes
- data collection
- data use (by a party that already possesses the data)
- data disclosure (to another party)
- data storage, including data
security
- data retention, and data destruction
- access by the data subject, and rights of correction and amendment
- regulatory agencies / watchdogs
- Identification, Anonymity and Pseudonymity
- Categories of Personal Data
- data about citizens held by government agencies
- data about consumers
- widely-available personal data (so-called 'public
registers')
- direct
marketing
- health care data
- pharmaceutical prescriptions data
- health insurance data
- genetic data
- financial data
- insurance data
- telecommunications data
- Technologies
- The Internet