Ethics Personal Privacy

In the Country’s infancy, the right to personal privacy was implied from privacy rights that were originally extended to personal property, especially to the home. Individuals were given the right to grant and deny access to their property to all persons including governmental representatives. Only with demonstration of significant cause was a breach of such personal privacy justified.
In Thomson (1975), “the right to be let alone” is more appropriately applied to individual privacy from the public versus from governmental intrusion or law enforcement as the example was given in the text.
In Benn and Reiman (1976), the right to personal privacy as fundamental to American liberty is expanded by equating it with “a right which all human individuals possess.”
In our technological society, physical boundaries are ineffectual as barriers against invasion of privacy. High concentrations of private information held by governmental and private others begs use and abuse of the power. The lack of transparency exacerbates abuse. Governmental and private parties alike relentlessly challenge consumers for personal information e.g. “surcharges” for cash payers, higher pricing for “non-club” shoppers, higher fees for “non-registered” drivers on state funded toll roads. Personal information is also simply given away. Children and adults alike fail to identify or value personal privacy as liberty, as a critical element of freedom.
Privacy exists in our society only as far as an individual is able (in compliance with law) to assert and defend his right. Given the citizenry’s loss of rights subsequent to 9/11 and the aggressiveness of the public and private sectors, there can be no question that personal privacy is endangered.