Introduction to Human Privacy in Virtual and Physical Worlds

Abstract

AbstractIn this chapter, the editors of Human Privacy in Virtual and Physical Worlds introduce readers to the aims of this book, which are to understand human privacy from multiple disciplines and to inspire privacy researchers to broaden their research perspectives beyond the limitations of a single disciplinary lens. This introductory chapter sets up the tripartite structure for the entire book: foundations of human privacy, technical views on privacy, and domain-specific views of privacy. In all, contributors hail from ten different fields, including anthropology, architecture, data science, engineering, history, information systems, library sciences, medicine, philosophy, and supply chain management. This introductory chapter summarizes each individual chapter and identifies four themes from across the chapters: First, privacy is best understood as a multifaceted, contextual, and temporal concept, which means that any attempts to identify universal truths would diminish the depth of understanding. Second, individuals’ rights to privacy are often in conflict with the group’s desire or right to know; finding the balance involves power and structural constructs. Third, privacy law permeates many discussions because professionals in every field must adhere to restrictions relevant to their jurisdiction; most authors advocate privacy-enhancing policies and practices beyond mere legal compliance. Finally, while the chapters written by the philosopher and the anthropologist caution against assuming that individual privacy is universally valued and should invariably be safeguarded, the authors of the technology and domain-specific chapters predominantly advocate for the valuation and protection of individual privacy and offer concrete practices to protect privacy.