How will the tensions between privacy and transparency be reconciled over the next 20 years? Will one value prevail over the other or will they both be harmonized? Will personal privacy be a thing of the past? Gaze into your crystal ball and describe our nation in 20 years in terms of privacy and transparency.
Friday, April 21, 2017
Privacy and Transparency in 20 years
There is
inherent tension between privacy and transparency. For a democracy to function properly some argue that transparency (not privacy) is necessary for public institutions, but that privacy (not
transparency) is necessary for individuals. And, yet governments and
corporations have legitimate needs to keep certain secrets (think national
defense and trade secrets) and certain individuals such as terrorists and
criminals use privacy as a means of accomplishing their hostile and illegal
acts (think encryption and ephemeral messaging).
How will the tensions between privacy and transparency be reconciled over the next 20 years? Will one value prevail over the other or will they both be harmonized? Will personal privacy be a thing of the past? Gaze into your crystal ball and describe our nation in 20 years in terms of privacy and transparency.
How will the tensions between privacy and transparency be reconciled over the next 20 years? Will one value prevail over the other or will they both be harmonized? Will personal privacy be a thing of the past? Gaze into your crystal ball and describe our nation in 20 years in terms of privacy and transparency.
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I think the balance between privacy and transparency will reflect the balance we see today. I think our society is demanding more transparency in law enforcement and the personal lives of elected officials. I believe in the future these individuals will see a significant decrease in personal privacy. For civilians I believe the internet of things, ever-expanding social media and application services of convenience, and internet tracking for targeted advertising will play the largest roles in declining personal privacy. However, we're also seeing a solid wave of technologies to aid in the recapture of personal privacy. As concerns grow and more individuals are burned from privacy attacks, I think the market demand for privacy technology and specialists will grow. So in similar fashion to my response for the question of the week, I would predict that personal privacy will be able to be maintained on a similar level to that of today, provided people are willing to make sacrifices of convenience. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
ReplyDeleteI think that the balance between transparency and privacy is something very important. I think that in some situations, transparency is expected, like what Christian said. In todays world, I see a sufficient amount of privacy given to individuals. However, I see the want for more transparency. Because of this I see our world moving towards more transparency and less privacy. As I have become more educated on the matter, I have been able to learn about technologies I can use to protect my privacy, but not everyone in the world has the honor of taking Privacy in a Digital Age. I am assuming that there are a lot of other people out there that think they are doing a good job protecting their privacy, when they really aren't doing so good. I hope to be able to protect my privacy and teach others about privacy as I move forward.
ReplyDeleteThere needs to be a balance between transparency and privacy, which may not be found. Some transparency is necessary for security, some information about us needs to be collected to maintain security. Those who have broken the law should have a lower expectation of privacy, since they pose a stronger security threat. Those who are law-abiding must give up some privacy in certain cases (such as when purchasing a gun, entering an event or certain areas, employment...). However, privacy at home should be maintained, and kept on a standard in public areas (not everything you do being put on the Internet (constant monitoring)). This also means we will never have perfect security, but that doesn't mean security can't be increased while improving on privacy. As people find their privacy is shrinking, the free market can push towards devices that implement privacy protection.
ReplyDeleteI would hope there would be some balance between privacy and transparency but the way we are headed, that will be impossible. The way that technology is developing means that almost certainly in 20 years private privacy will not longer exist (atleast in a recognizable form.) In 20 years computers will be cheap and integrated into everything, walls, clothes, appliances, etc. At this point with everything recording audio and video it will be impossible to hide anything without stripping nude and hiding out in the woods. People will continue to give up their privacy to companies piece by piece until eventually there is none left.
ReplyDelete20 years from now, I think transparency will be somewhat valued over privacy. The state of the U.S. government has become increasingly controversial. Opinions are very polarized, and a great deal of Americans are unhappy with the government right now. Because of this, I think people will start demanding more transparency from the government and corporations. Furthermore, the ever-increasing market for the Internet of Things is going to make the general public more transparent, as well.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that personal privacy is something that is going to just go away. I think that even now, we are starting to see people pushing back against privacy invasions. Measures are being taken in places like the EU to try to protect privacy and I would hope the US would get on board with some of the measures being taken. Trying to find the balance between privacy and transparency will probably always bring some tension, but that is probably a good thing. I think that this will help keep a good, healthy balance, so that neither privacy nor transparency get more influence than they should and we will have "the best of both worlds."
ReplyDeleteIn terms of governmental privacy, I think the current balance is quite sufficient to protect national secrets (With intense vetting and background checking of individuals given Secret or Top Secret clearances), while also providing transparency (via Whistleblower laws -- Yes, these should be expanded to cover government contractors, but I don't think they need to be completely scrapped)
ReplyDeleteIn the view of a functional democracy, I don't see how an individual's privacy plays much of a role, beyond that they government ought not be trying to reveal every detail of every citizen's life -- but if the individual chooses to expose anything, that is her business.
I do not believe that there will ever be a true reconciliation between the two, but there will always be tension. I believe that as time continues society will prioritize one over the other at different times. This will keep the balance between the two at its natural equilibrium. Just as in a free market where supply and demand are in conflict with each other and determine price this is what will happen with society's preference between transparency and privacy. This balance has changed since 9/11 where after the terrorist attack privacy had little value to society and security was given priority, making individuals lives more transparent and government actions more secret. Now this is being dialed back and individual's privacy is given greater priority. I believe that this balancing act will continue as time goes on and this conflict will never be fully reconciled.
ReplyDeleteI don't forsee a resolution between privacy and transparency. I believe, unfortunately, that privacy is on the losing side of the battle. We're only just realizing the power of all this private information we give out, and in 20 years a lot more devices are going to be asking for that information. I hope that there continues to be a battle for privacy, because I think we all can agree that the chilling effect of non-privacy is an uncomfortable notion. There needs to be resistance towards mass surveillance disguised as convenient features in day to day products. Consumers need to challenge the companies they purchase from to respect their privacy, and that starts with education. If people aren't aware that their being exploited for personal information, then there's no hope. I don't have a tremendous amount of trust in big corporations, and dont doubt that selling your private information is a lucrative interest of any corporation that collects it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that in the coming future the illusion of privacy will be interwoven into every marketable thing, boasting security and confidentiality in the handling of users' information; but in reality all information will be transmitted transparently. A world where the internet of things and inter-connectivity between all appliances will become, I believe, the only way items will exist in the future. There will need to be overseers managing, storing, and combing over all information transmitted between all of our devices. There will be privacy between individuals but access would be granted to a select few, and of course then could be gained by force by an even smaller few. On a grander scale, in terms of governments I believe privacy will become a one-way street of forced transparency to a higher authority and zero transparency from the top down. Especially in a world where many battles fought between nations are information wars, the breach of security of a government agency either by individuals or through mass leaks could possibly lead to the undoing of a government. In the coming 20 years I think we will see more and more extreme actions taken by individuals to leave this grid, but overall we will see a world where secrets become fewer, and much harder to protect.
ReplyDeleteAs technology moves forward and more items than ever are being introduced to the Internet of Things, I think that maintaining privacy will prove to become increasingly arduous. More of our daily items are becoming "smart," providing ever more ways to access our personal info. In 20 years, I see it being near impossible to maintain current privacy expectations due to how tech-savvy the majority of the population will be at that time.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that privacy and transparency will ever reach a compromise. They are at odds now, and they will be at odds in the future. Personal privacy is dying; however, I believe that privacy will still find a way to exist (as I mentioned in my previous blog post.) Privacy will still exist, but it will be different. Transparency will be a more integral part of our society, but we will find ways to maintain privacy in our own ways.
ReplyDeleteThe importance of personal privacy in a digital age is just being realized; therefore, it will hopefully not become a thing of the past but continue to be fought for. We have learned that there are ways that we can protect ourselves, even if an equilibrium between privacy and transparency may never be reached.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there exists a necessary balance between privacy and transparency, but unfortunately I believe that the current state of affairs and technological progress means that things aren't going to get to get better in the next 20 years. With the current technological trend encouraging the sharing of personal information and the expectation of connectivity and access to all future "smart" devices, I see transparency becoming much more highly valued over privacy in the years to come.
ReplyDelete