Safeguard Your Privacy Today for a Better Tomorrow
What is Personal Privacy?
Personal privacy refers to the fundamental human right and ability to control and protect one’s personal
information and data. As stated in a Harvard Law Review article "The Right to Privacy”, privacy can be
defined as “the right to be let alone." People should be able to determine the extent to which their personal
information is collected, processed and used by others. Personal data includes any confidential and sensitive
information that can be used to identify an individual such as credit card numbers, social security numbers,
health records and other identifying information. Privacy ensures this information is kept secure from
unauthorized access.
Safeguarding privacy has become an arduous challenge in modern society.
In 2019, over 530 million people’s personal Facebook data, including phone numbers, names, locations and
email
addresses were leaked. This leaked user profile data represented users in 106 countries and were posted to a
hacker forum after malicious actors exploited a vulnerability in the system. While this data leak may seem
trivial, users became increasingly vulnerable as a result.
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The Impacts
Information technology poses a greater risk to personal privacy today than ever before. Advancements in
generative artificial intelligence, data tracking and collection and mass electronic surveillance and spyware can
lead to unauthorized access to confidential personal information. Corporations and government agencies regularly
collect and process personal information and applications and websites track data and browsing
habits to provide personalized user experiences and products. The detrimental impacts of these technologies and
automated systems for storing and collecting information, from sensor networks, tracking cookies, social media,
facial recognition technology, search engines, big data and technology to government cybersecurity programs lead
to numerous unprecedented moral, social, political and legal issues in society.
“Scammers can do an enormous amount with little information from us.”
- Cybersecurity expert Adam Levin
Do you always read and accept the terms and conditions in privacy policies?
Canadian Privacy Policies Document
Why is Personal Privacy Important?
In the age of modern computing, the protection of data and disclosure of personal information such as financial
information and phone numbers continues to be imperative issues as they can be compromised in data breaches,
cybercrimes, electronic intercepts, identity
theft, fraud and more. People should be aware of these intrusions, and mandate boundaries regarding their
preferences and data collection. Personal privacy is a fundamental human right that is necessary to ensure
people’s personal autonomy, freedom of expression, integrity and social safety. The responsible and ethical
usage of technology is imperative to prevent the misuse of personal identity and autonomy.
There are many security threats to personal data collection.
Personal data continues to be a valuable commodity in today’s market.
A New Era of Privacy
Social media platforms and corporations collect and use personal data to generate profit through direct
advertising and predictive analytics, gain insights about consumer experiences and make corporate decisions—and
these can be done without the knowledge or consent from users.
How Secure is Your Email Address? Click here to test whether your
email address has been pwned in a data breach.
TIP: Make sure not to fall for phishing scams and beware of spam and unwanted senders.
Explore Personal Privacy Topics
Delve deeper into specific personal privacy issues found in information technology and learn more about how
your sensitive personal information and data can be collected in diverse ways.
Personal privacy is a broad and complex problem that entails many implications and ramifications depending on
different technologies. Privacy issues can generally be divided into specific sub-categories to understand the
relevance and importance of this overarching problem through various perspectives, social lens and consequences.
