Definition of Privacy in the field on Information Technology

Here are my own definitions of some of the many privacy issues that we have in the field of Information Technology:


Database privacy
This involves keeping the computer user's database resources secured or hidden from unauthorized persons.

This means that if you happen to have an access to secured or confidential databases such as database that holds the pins of phone cards or active credit card numbers then, your action of securing or hidding these resources you have access to from other individuals or institution is good or moral, and therefore makes the act ethical. But if you decide to share, or worst sell, this data to unauthorized individuals, then that will make the act unethical.

Email privacy
I would define this as the right of any individual to keep his/her own mails from being opened and/or read by others.

Sneaking on someone else's email is definitely intrusive of their rights to privacy. I guess we can say that the right of anyone to privacy can be considered as a universal law. And since everyone is given a right to privacy, snooping on other's email is still a violation of that universal law. Because doing such is just like opening his/her files hidden on his personal cabinet or reading his/her snail mails or even a diary. If we try to analyze and relate this scenario to ordinary situations, this act looks similar to listening on other individual's conversation without their consent. This act therefore becomes unethical because doing so deprives the owner of the email of his/her right to privacy.

Privacy on the web
I consider this as the right of any individual to restrict any kind of access to keep track of his/her moves or actions on the web without his/her consent.

Privacy on the web is one of the major problems that we have today. As of this writing, there are still no rules or laws that prohibits computer users from checking or keeping track of other computer user's information. But this should be also concern because there doing such act is an intrusion of their right to privacy. No body should be given the right to check on all your activities. I remember the movie "The Truman's Show" which stars Jim Carey, where in his whole life from birth was being controlled and watched on tv. He only found out that his whole life was just a big drama when he already got old. That story where Mr. Truman's right to privacy was taken away from him is also similar to privacy on the web.