portfolio Introductory Reflective Essay

Student Name: Huimin Liang

Professor: Georgie Ziff

Course: English 300

Date:03/01/2020

Position Essay Final Draft

Privacy refers to the state of not having one’s personal information disclosed to other people without one’s consent (Cohen 2). Privacy is both legal and moral right; it should be able to uphold human freedom and dignity. In case the privacy of a person is infringed on in one way or another, it leads to the demise of his/her dignity and freedom. The discussions around privacy are one of the most debated topics globally. These discussions are anticipated to further gain more traction because of the rapid development of tracking and surveillance technologies that makes it easier to gather information and it might result in the invasion of people’s privacy. People hold divergent views on whether or not privacy should be an issue of concern. Some people feel that the issue of privacy should be of concern if one if hiding something, others feel that privacy should matter even if there is someone who is not hiding anything. The later views are also held by Daniel Solove, “privacy matters even if you have nothing to hide” (Solove 1). I also agree with his argument because privacy is a fundamental right and it helps people to maintain their independence and freedom.

Solove mentions that “Privacy is a complex concept and plurality of different things”(Solove 5), hence the debates around it should also follow that a multi-faceted dimension. In other words, privacy involves a lot of things and it should not be reduced to one simple idea. This is something that those pro nothing to hide arguments often miss. Most of the time they justify actions like surveillance that invade people’s privacy because they feel that constant monitoring reduces the chances of terrorism and other security-related threats. While the matters of security are important, that should not justify actions that invade people’s privacy. But we should be able to look at it beyond that; for instance, privacy can be invaded by sharing your deepest secrets, improper use of personal data and even blackmail. Solove points out that “privacy is not about hiding bad things”. Therefore the different situations that we perceive might be a source of problems for us should spank our desire to protect our privacy.

To illustrate how surveillance and information processing can curtail privacy, Solove uses Orwellian and Kafkaesque metaphors. In the former, the government through surveillance watches its citizens and demands strict discipline, this inhibits their freedom of association and expression. Whereas, in the later metaphor a mysterious dossier is used to arrest and investigate a man without him knowing how the information was collected(Solove 7). We see the above happening more often especially in countries that are ruled by dictators. The citizens are often monitored and they cannot criticize the government least they are arrested. This has been attributed to creating a power imbalance between the government and the citizens.

The privacy should matter even if you have nothing to hide because it will contribute to reducing problems that are related to exclusion. This usually happens when the government harvests personal data and does not explicitly explain to its citizens how they intend to use that information. When the information processing locks out its citizen it degenerates to power imbalance and how the government treats its citizens. The government should have power on its citizens but not to use its power to infringe on their privacy. Similarly, the secondary use of information could lead to privacy-related problems. For instance, not too long ago, Facebook and Cambridge Analytica companies made international headlines for bridging data privacy. It is alleged that Cambridge Analytica harvested the personal information of more than 50 million Facebook users without their consent and sold it to their clients (Menand).

Additionally, privacy-related problems can be created through inference. If we allow the government or any other institution to track and have all the information about us, then they can deduce something about us that might not necessarily be correct. For example, suppose you bought a book about depression. The purchase does not reveal if you are suffering from those conditions or the purchase was made out of interest for that medical condition. An inference can easily be made that you are depressed which might not be true.

Privacy is also needed to prevent privacy problems that can be brought through distortion. For instance, although personal information can call tell somebody’s personalities, it does reflect the whole person. There can be a very great difference between one’s private persona and one’s public self. For example, in public, one might be shy but very outgoing in private (Cohen 2). So judging someone by personal information might distort who they are.

In conclusion, privacy is a very fundamental issue and it should be given the necessary attention that it deserves especially in this technological era that has seen manufacturing of intrusive devices for collecting information. Privacy matters even if you have nothing to hide because a lack of privacy can stem from something simple like feeling uneasy about something to bigger issues like someone hacking your bank account.

Work Cited

Cohen, Elliot. Technology of Oppression: Preserving Freedom and Dignity in an Age of Mass, Warrantless Surveillance. Springer, 2014.

Menand, Louis. "Why Do We Care So Much About Privacy?". The New Yorker, 2020,

Solove, Daniel J. Why Privacy Matters If You Have “Nothing to Hide”. Reading Critically Writing Well 11th Edition. Rise B. Axelrod, Charles R. Copper, Alison M. Warriner. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2017. 319–23.