People talk about their privacy so often that even small children are even cautious about it. One needs to know what it means in order to know to know its significance. A quick look at the Oxford dictionary reveals that it is a state in which one is not observed or disturbed by other people.
When we talk about privacy rights, it doesn't just include ordinary people like us, rather it involves the government too. This term is not as simple as it seems and it is surrounded by multiple other terms. To understand this, we also need to understand how the state works. There are three important bodies i.e. the parliament, executive (which is the government) and the judiciary.
Parliament makes the laws; the executive implements them and the judiciary interprets them. If the government implements the laws then how is our right of privacy protected and implemented? This right is given by the parliament to the citizens of the state. Article14 of the Constitution of Pakistan ensures that the right of privacy is given to its citizens.
I will go a bit further discuss the two types of states, security and welfare, to simplify the argument.
Prime example of a welfare state are the European Union countries. Pakistan is an example of a security state. Welfare states are those where the social and economic wellbeing of the citizens is protected and promoted. In contrast, a security state is one where the state uses technology and other means to breach the rights of its citizens. This means that technology and privacy are very intricately linked to each other in this era.
Edward Snowden, a US citizen and a former intelligence community officer leaked confidential information says in his memoir about privacy and technology that:
There is no one certain answer to this because it varies from person to person. Privacy is interlinked to interests, which is not of one kind so it will vary. It also does not mean that if it is not kept safe it will affect the discloser only and no one else. For instance, if you are in a business surrounding, there are many things which are confidential and require privacy, and if disclosed it effects all those who were a part of it while also breaching trust.
Saying yes to all those who are taking control on this human right of privacy means that you are giving your right, and even the government can curtail it, who gave you the right in the first place. Many may argue it’s a qualified right and not absolute; meaning that the government can interfere where its necessary, because of security reasons for example. The term ‘security reasons’ must be emphasized here because if given a deeper look, it is not always about the security concerns that government has to keep surveillance.
Where we encounter cookies on almost every website to protect our privacy, it is observed that it is interrupted more frequently. We think that we know how far the government or other organizations due to the biometrics, sim cards and even the new ID cards with chips are observing us, but we forget to realize how closely we actually are under the eye.
In Australia, a new bill was introduced “Assistance and Access Bill” under which the government and law enforcement agencies can retrieve encrypted information from all those tech companies that are in Australia.
Snowden’s revelations led to the disclosure of prism, a data-mining program which made Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple accessible to the NSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the government communications headquarters. He has said “I don't want to live in a world where everything I say, everything I do, everyone I talk to, every expression of creativity and love or friendship is recorded.”
He was charged with theft of government property and two other charges under the Espionage Act, however, what about the government when the general public is under surveillance 24/7 and their right to privacy is denied in this manner? If this right is denied, how can the officials say that there is ‘democracy’?
The technological world is not confined to internet giants like Google etc. only. Rather refined technologies are being introduced which bring along more threats. As Snowden said “An AI-equipped surveillance camera would be not a mere recording device, but could be made into something closer to an automated police officer.”
One may never have thought what the advancing technology was bringing along and if you were enjoying technology, you are paying heavy price for it, with no reasonable justification.
When we talk about privacy rights, it doesn't just include ordinary people like us, rather it involves the government too. This term is not as simple as it seems and it is surrounded by multiple other terms. To understand this, we also need to understand how the state works. There are three important bodies i.e. the parliament, executive (which is the government) and the judiciary.
Parliament makes the laws; the executive implements them and the judiciary interprets them. If the government implements the laws then how is our right of privacy protected and implemented? This right is given by the parliament to the citizens of the state. Article14 of the Constitution of Pakistan ensures that the right of privacy is given to its citizens.
I will go a bit further discuss the two types of states, security and welfare, to simplify the argument.
Prime example of a welfare state are the European Union countries. Pakistan is an example of a security state. Welfare states are those where the social and economic wellbeing of the citizens is protected and promoted. In contrast, a security state is one where the state uses technology and other means to breach the rights of its citizens. This means that technology and privacy are very intricately linked to each other in this era.
Edward Snowden, a US citizen and a former intelligence community officer leaked confidential information says in his memoir about privacy and technology that:
There is no one certain answer to this because it varies from person to person. Privacy is interlinked to interests, which is not of one kind so it will vary. It also does not mean that if it is not kept safe it will affect the discloser only and no one else. For instance, if you are in a business surrounding, there are many things which are confidential and require privacy, and if disclosed it effects all those who were a part of it while also breaching trust.
Saying yes to all those who are taking control on this human right of privacy means that you are giving your right, and even the government can curtail it, who gave you the right in the first place. Many may argue it’s a qualified right and not absolute; meaning that the government can interfere where its necessary, because of security reasons for example. The term ‘security reasons’ must be emphasized here because if given a deeper look, it is not always about the security concerns that government has to keep surveillance.
Where we encounter cookies on almost every website to protect our privacy, it is observed that it is interrupted more frequently. We think that we know how far the government or other organizations due to the biometrics, sim cards and even the new ID cards with chips are observing us, but we forget to realize how closely we actually are under the eye.
In Australia, a new bill was introduced “Assistance and Access Bill” under which the government and law enforcement agencies can retrieve encrypted information from all those tech companies that are in Australia.
Snowden’s revelations led to the disclosure of prism, a data-mining program which made Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple accessible to the NSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the government communications headquarters. He has said “I don't want to live in a world where everything I say, everything I do, everyone I talk to, every expression of creativity and love or friendship is recorded.”
He was charged with theft of government property and two other charges under the Espionage Act, however, what about the government when the general public is under surveillance 24/7 and their right to privacy is denied in this manner? If this right is denied, how can the officials say that there is ‘democracy’?
The technological world is not confined to internet giants like Google etc. only. Rather refined technologies are being introduced which bring along more threats. As Snowden said “An AI-equipped surveillance camera would be not a mere recording device, but could be made into something closer to an automated police officer.”
One may never have thought what the advancing technology was bringing along and if you were enjoying technology, you are paying heavy price for it, with no reasonable justification.