Ethics Project Internet Privacy Overview

Ethics Project Internet Privacy Overview

Our smartphones and other devices that connect to the Internet enable us to share our information, such as where we are, what we’ve eaten, who we’re friends with, when we’ve exercised, and what we’re interested in. In essence, we’ve become a public society. And studies show that for the most part, we don’t care about being open. But, should we? It’s not just our friends and families that we’re sharing this information with.

Governments and companies are listening, too, and we’ve learned that often they can’t be trusted in how they collect and use our data. In many cases, we agree to privacy terms when we want to use a device or software. We’ve come to accept that there’s a trade-off between being able to use a device or software and giving up some level of privacy. But is this the way it should be? Can we have smart devices that offer us great conveniences while preserving our fundamental right to privacy? Who is ultimately responsible for controlling our privacy: we or the companies that make the devices? 5Y