Two new studies on the state of privacy

"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks",

states the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was adopted by the United Nations in 1948. In many countries privacy is highly valued and protected by law. However, privacy advocates find that in reality privacy often is not as protected as the law would suggest.

Privacy International, a non-governmental organization founded in 1990 as a "watchdog on surveillance and privacy invasions by governments and corporations" recently released their "2007 International Privacy Ranking". With over 1,100 pages based on the input of 200 experts the report is very comprehensive. If you want to get a picture at one glance, you can take a look at the map on the left, but here are some key findings from the report's summary:

• "The 2007 rankings indicate an overall worsening of privacy protection across the world, reflecting an increase in surveillance and a declining performance of privacy safeguards. [...]
• The 2007 rankings show an increasing trend amongst governments to archive data on the geographic, communications and financial records of all their citizens and residents. This trend leads to the conclusion that all citizens, regardless of legal status, are under suspicion.
• The privacy trends have been fueled by the emergence of a profitable surveillance industry dominated by global IT companies and the creation of numerous international treaties that frequently operate outside judicial or democratic processes. [...]
• The lowest ranking countries in the survey continue to be Malaysia, Russia and China. The highest-ranking countries in 2007 are Greece, Romania and Canada.
• The 2006 leader, Germany, slipped significantly in the 2007 rankings, dropping from 1st to 7th place behind Portugal and Slovenia.
• In terms of statutory protections and privacy enforcement, the US is the worst ranking country in the democratic world. In terms of overall privacy protection the United States has performed very poorly, being out-ranked by both India and the Philippines and falling into the "black" category, denoting endemic surveillance.
• The worst ranking EU country is the United Kingdom, which again fell into the "black" category along with Russia and Singapore. [...]."

According to this report the protection of privacy is worsening. Does this mean that citizens are becoming more sensitive when it comes to the exposure of their personal information? Surprisingly, the opposite seems to be the case. People across the globe are sharing more about their private lives than ever before using social media. Aren't they aware that these "digital footprints" undermine their privacy? A recent study of the Pew/Internet & American Life Project suggests otherwise. While this study only applies to the US, it is of particular interest given that Privacy International found the US to be a country where surveillance is endemic. Here are some key findings:

• "Internet users are becoming more aware of their digital footprint; 47 % have searched for information about themselves online, up from just 22 % five years ago
• Few monitor their online presence with great regularity.
• Most internet users are not concerned about the amount of information available about them online, and most do not take steps to limit that information.
• Internet users have reason to be uncertain about the availability of personal data: 60 % of those who search for their names actually find information about themselves online, but 38 % say their searches come up short.
• One in ten internet users have a job that requires them to self-promote or market their name online.
• Among adults who create social networking profiles, transparency is the norm.
• More than half of all adult internet users have used a search engine to follow others' footprints.
• Basic contact information tops most searchers' wish lists."

So, while political interests and new technologies are driving an unseen level of surveillance, people are also exposing themselves like never before. This looks like a potentially dangerous combination. However, the fact that people are prepared to show more of themselves doesn't mean that they concede any kind of surveillance. They might have a wider definition of privacy, but one thing certainly hasn't changed: they want their personal information only being used in a manner they agree with. An increasing number of power users is currently trying to answer the question how to make that sure. They are either trying to solve the problem with technical precautions on how to safeguard your privacy online, or they are trying the legal route developing frameworks like a privacy manifesto or even a bill of rights for the open social web. These are all very worthy efforts, but the jury is still out what will actually work.

Georg Kolb

Technorati Tags: privacy, Privacy International, Pew/Internet