Privacy as defined by our class text, is the rights of an individual
to protection to nondisclosure of personal information. (Schneider, Perry)
For most people though, privacy is interpreted in different ways. In one
study, surveys polled privacy to mean anonymity. It was reported that
approximately 25% of internet users responded with them saying that they
wanted �no information about them traced or disclosed in any circumstance.�
(Rainie)
As can be seen, the above definition is different from the text definition in
that privacy is more than just �nondisclosure�. However, in the same survey,
there were those that saw privacy to mean �confidentiality.� This concept of
confidentiality more closely agrees with our definition, in that these people
were described as those who were somewhat comfortable with having information
collected on them. These select people were more concerned with the collected
information not being sold or exchanged with others.
To better understand privacy as interpreted by our legal system, it should be
noted that, �Nowhere does the text of the United States Constitution contain the
word "privacy." The Supreme Court has found the concept of "privacy" to be
protected by a number of the Amendments. Thus, privacy is known as a "penumbra
right." "It is the essence of the Bill of Rights and thus a guaranteed right."
(Walton)
So the argument posed by those who want to see E-commerce sites respect the
privacy of its visitors is that if privacy is a guaranteed right of all citizens of
the United States, why have E-commerce sites been allowed to gather personal
information unbeknown to most individuals.
