Privacy

Privacy

The word privacy means different things to different people. For example, a right to privacy depending on whom you talk to can mean:

* A right to be left alone.

* A right to control who sees information about you.

* A right to take decision about your personal life without government intervention.

The right to privacy: according to article 12 of the universal declaration of human rights states, No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with their privacy, family, home or correspondence, or to attacks upon their honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Benn argues that the importance of privacy is mainly that it helps us to create or maintain our individual human personalities. The privacy act governs how individuals organisation or business collect, use, discloses, store and give access to personal information. The Act has twelve information privacy principles. These give individuals important rights to control what is done with the information about them, however the principles have exceptions like other acts. The act balance privacy needs with other important social needs such as public safety or prevention or detection of crime. These give individuals important right to control what is done with information about them. Generally agent that hold personal information, they have to comply with privacy principles and personal information is any information about an individuals as long as that individual can be identified.

The privacy principles are:

1. Purpose of collection of personal information should be lawful and it is necessary to collect the information for that purpose.

2. Source of personal information must be collected from the individual concerned directly.

3. Collection of information and must take reasonable steps to ensure the individual is aware of.

4. Manner of collection of personal information must not be unlawful and unfair....