Privacy can be defined as the right of persons to control the distribution of information about themselves. By definition, invasion of privacy would include collection or distribution of information in such a way that the person to whom it pertains finds it objectionable. Although it is assumed that individuals have the right to privacy, that right in not explicitly stated in any government document.
In development countries, business is highly computerized and many citizens use electronic means to pay for purchases, the buyer's every step is tracked and analyzed. When some one purchase an item over the phone with his credit card, chance are good that his/her purchase is added to a record of the types of things. Marketers can amass quite a bit of information about the buyer simply from tracking the purchasing history and combining it with other public information, such as address, occupation and age. A company can learn a lot about purchaser also by matching records and combining facts from different database, such as banking records and payroll records. All this information can then be uses to target specific marketing information to the buyer.
Many people view such comprehensive data gathering as an invasion of privacy. They cite the potential for the information to be used inappropriately or for purposes unrelated to that for which the information was originally disclosed. For instance, it may be possible to correlate a medical database with an insurance database to learn the names of policy holders who had a positive result on a particular medical test. The fear is that the insurance company could then cancel the policy based on the test.
Buying and selling data and matching services are a big business. Although most countries have laws to prohibit the release and cross-matching of information in government agency database, there are no corresponding laws to cover data kept in private sector databases.
In development countries, business is highly computerized and many citizens use electronic means to pay for purchases, the buyer's every step is tracked and analyzed. When some one purchase an item over the phone with his credit card, chance are good that his/her purchase is added to a record of the types of things. Marketers can amass quite a bit of information about the buyer simply from tracking the purchasing history and combining it with other public information, such as address, occupation and age. A company can learn a lot about purchaser also by matching records and combining facts from different database, such as banking records and payroll records. All this information can then be uses to target specific marketing information to the buyer.
Many people view such comprehensive data gathering as an invasion of privacy. They cite the potential for the information to be used inappropriately or for purposes unrelated to that for which the information was originally disclosed. For instance, it may be possible to correlate a medical database with an insurance database to learn the names of policy holders who had a positive result on a particular medical test. The fear is that the insurance company could then cancel the policy based on the test.
Buying and selling data and matching services are a big business. Although most countries have laws to prohibit the release and cross-matching of information in government agency database, there are no corresponding laws to cover data kept in private sector databases.
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