Right to privacy

The right to privacy is an important idea in many legal traditions that helps protect people from actions by governments or others that threaten their privacy. Over 185 national constitutions include this right, showing just how important it is.

Since the global surveillance disclosures in 2013, many people around the world have talked a lot about this right. Agencies like the NSA, FBI, CIA, R&AW, and GCHQ have been involved in watching many people around the world.

Today, there are big questions about how privacy can work when intelligence agencies have powerful tools to learn about people’s lives. Some people wonder if giving up privacy is necessary to keep everyone safe from terrorism. Companies like Amazon, Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo also collect a lot of personal data, which can be a threat to privacy.

International

The right to privacy is a basic human right protected by international laws. On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While it does not use the words "right to privacy," Article 12 says that no one should have their privacy, family, home, or letters looked at without reason, and everyone should be protected by the law from such actions.

Later, this right was clearly written in important international agreements, like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It states that no one should have their privacy, family, home, or letters interfered with without reason, and everyone has the right to be protected by the law from such actions.

History

The idea of a "right to privacy" started in the 12th century in Bologna, Italy, when the word ius came to mean not just "what is fair" but also a right that people have to control their own lives.

In the United States, a very important article about privacy was written in 1890 by Samuel D. Warren II and Louis Brandeis, who later became a judge. They said privacy is the "right to be let alone," and they wanted to protect people from new technologies and unfair news reporting of the time.

As technology changed, so did ideas about privacy. Even judges began to see that laws should help protect people’s private lives. New inventions like telephones and computers made it easier for information to be shared without people’s permission, which led to more rules to protect privacy.

As an individual right

Alan Westin believes that new technologies can change the balance between keeping personal information private and sharing it. He says privacy lets people decide when and how to share details about themselves. Under systems that value freedom, privacy creates a space away from politics, allowing people to think, speak, and express ideas without being watched. People can join political events or hide their identities online using fake names.

David Flaherty thinks that online databases can threaten privacy. He talks about "data protection," which means controlling how personal information is collected, used, and shared. Marc Rotenberg describes the modern right to privacy as fair information practices, where people have rights over their data, and those collecting data have responsibilities.

Richard Posner and Lawrence Lessig look at privacy from an economic view. Posner thinks privacy can hide information that affects market efficiency. Lessig believes privacy can be protected better through laws and technology, suggesting people should control their own information. Adam D. Moore argues that the ability to control personal information is important for well-being, even if ideas about privacy differ across cultures.

As a collective value and a human right

Privacy is important for a fair and open society. It helps people think freely and stay different from each other. It also lets everyone speak up and join together without the government controlling them too much.

Experts say privacy should be seen as something that helps all people, not just one person. This makes it easier to protect privacy in laws. Privacy also helps keep respect and freedom for everyone. It is a right that many countries agree on, like in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Privacy depends on sharing information in the right way, and when it is shared the wrong way, it can be a problem.

Privacy laws in different jurisdictions

Privacy laws help protect people's personal information from both the government and companies. These laws vary from country to country.

Australia

Australia doesn't have a special rule in its main laws for privacy. But, the Privacy Act 1988 helps protect people's private information when the government or big companies use it. This law includes 13 important rules about privacy.

Canada

Canada's privacy rules come from old court decisions, laws passed by Parliament of Canada and local governments, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These rules are based on an old but important article called "The Right to Privacy" written in 1890.

China

China’s highest law is its Constitution, which supports privacy rights. In 2021, China introduced new laws like the Civil Code and the Personal Information Protection Law to better protect people’s private data.

European Union

The European Union protects privacy through the European Convention on Human Rights. This convention says that everyone has the right to respect for their private life, home, and messages. The EU also has strong data protection laws under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which gives people control over their personal information.

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe created a treaty called Convention 108 to protect people’s personal data. This treaty was updated in 2012 to keep up with new technology.

India

In 2017, India’s Indian Supreme Court decided that privacy is a basic right for all citizens. This important decision helps protect people’s private lives, especially online. India also has a new law called the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 to protect personal data.

Israel

Israel protects privacy through its Basic Law. In 2006, Israel created a special group to manage privacy rules and protect people’s private information online.

Russia

Russia’s Constitution guarantees the right to privacy. In 2006, Russia passed a law to protect people’s personal data. In 2014, new rules were added to keep people’s data safe within the country.

United States

The Constitution of the United States doesn’t specifically mention a right to privacy, but courts have used it to protect many important freedoms. Some of these include the right to marry someone of your choice and the right to make personal medical decisions.

In 2018, California created the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to give people more control over their personal information. This law lets people know what information is collected about them, stop their data from being sold, access their data, and request it be deleted.

Mass surveillance

Further information: Global surveillance, Edward Snowden, and Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present)

In some countries, government groups are allowed to watch many people around the world to keep safety. They can collect information about who calls whom and what people search online. After big safety problems in 2001, some of these groups started watching their own country’s people too.

Some people worry this watching hurts privacy, but others think it helps keep people safe. In 2013, a leader said the government did not watch ordinary people, but later changed this statement. A special group looked and found these watching programs did not help stop any big safety problems.

In China, leaders watch certain areas very closely, especially during health problems like the COVID-19 pandemic. They track where people go and who they meet, giving colors like red or green to show if someone can travel or shop. Some people felt this was unfair and used against them.

Journalism

Sometimes, people in the news feel that sharing details about their private lives breaks their right to privacy. However, the media believe that the public has a right to know about important figures. This idea is part of the right to freedom of speech.

When private information is shared, it depends on whether it is important for the public to know. If the information is important, the law usually supports the freedom of the press. But even true facts might not be protected if they aren't important to share. Courts often support the media in sharing such information, especially about well-known people like actors, leaders, and athletes. However, there are limits to avoid excessive curiosity. Courts decide these cases one by one, which means the rules can change based on each situation.

Main article: Newsworthiness

Technology

Technology companies like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Yahoo collect personal information that can threaten people's privacy. This is especially concerning with the use of artificial intelligence to process data.

Some places, like California, have laws to help protect young people online. However, the United States has not done as much as some other countries, like those in the European Union, to protect privacy online. In healthcare, connecting patient data to the internet can also put people at risk of cyber attacks, raising questions about how much information should be stored and who can see it.

Protection of minors

United Kingdom

In the UK, laws and courts work to protect children from harm in news stories. For example, in 2017, a video showing a 12-year-old girl being bullied was taken down because it could cause more harm to the child. This happened after a website shared the video without hiding her identity. Courts in the UK decide how to protect children based on each situation, looking at things like the child’s age and whether they expected their privacy to be respected.

United States

In the United States, a law called the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, helps protect children under 13 by making sure websites ask for a parent’s permission before collecting any information from young users. This is why many sites ask if you are under 13 or require you to be at least 13 to join. However, this law does not protect teens older than 13, and it sometimes overlaps with other privacy laws like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.