*culture is not optional

Privacy in our Modern Age

by Josh Baxter

It's safe to assume that if you were living in Greece, sometime in
the 5th century B.C., your name and where you ate lunch would not be
known centuries after your death. In fact unless you were a great
philosopher like Socrates or Plato, or perhaps a historian named
Herodotus, you are unlikely to make it into any official records from
this period at all. However, skip 2500 years into the future and that
lunch you just bought at a local restaurant with your debit card has
recorded you into a vast vault of archived information.

The Information Age has, for many, made life easier and less
complex. As a student, the wealth of information on the Web has made
researching a lot simpler. It can even be done sitting comfortably in
your room while chatting online to someone across the world. Seems like
a harmless situation right? Well, browsing the web may not be as safe
as it seems. Every time you browse (it sounds so innocent) you are
releasing personal information to a number of sources. But don't be
disturbed. Everyday we release personal information just by having our
telephone numbers listed in the White pages. To be honest, most of us
reveal our whereabouts constantly by using debit cards, driving on most
toll highways or being caught on surveillance cameras.

Today our commercial world is driven by the demands of the consumer,
regardless of our privacy. Companies spend thousands of dollars on
research to track the next trend and they need consumer input to do it.
The Internet is no different. Ever get annoyed by those pop-up ads?
Well, they are more sophisticated than you think. Those friendly
"cookies" that you obtain from every Internet site actually records
information on what you have looked at. Some companies will then use
this information for the next time you visit their site where a pop-up
ad designed for you will appear. How far will this technology go?
Perhaps the movie Minority Report gives us a glimpse of the
future when personal information is extracted from an eye-scan that in
turn displays advertising designed specifically to that person?s
interests.

The issue of increased privacy has grown as technology continues to
progress. The late Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau once
remarked, "The State has no business in the bedrooms of the nation."
But that was 35 years ago and times have changed. Now Canadians are
asking for more privacy. The Federal government addressed this concern
in 2000 with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic
Documents Act. This act is designed to restrict the private sector as
well as the government from disclosing personal information. The
results won't be clear for a few years since the act is being phased in
until 2004. This still leaves the question of who will own this
information.

Then there is the issue of how the invasion of privacy actually
protects us. South of the border privacy laws protecting the rights of
people have almost been non-existent since the events of 9/11. It is
true that the events of that tragic day might have been prevented if
the American government had gathered more information on those who
attacked their nation. Yet, the citizens of the United States have
always felt the "Big Brother is watching" syndrome and are unlikely to
allow acts that invade privacy when the terrorist scare is over.

At Redeemer University College the privacy issue is also confronted.
On registration day all Redeemer students are handed a sheet of paper,
which asks permission to make their personal information public. Most
returning students never even take the time to read the sheet as they
know it pertains to the publication of the BOD book (a student
directory). For those first-year students who questioned this, well
done. It is always good to know where your personal information is
going to be published. The BOD book is a useful resource of personal
information at Redeemer and has served its purpose well. It is a great
way to match names and faces and it helps create a close community. The
important thing to note is that this information is meant to improve
our community and not to invade the privacy of our brothers and
sisters. This is just one example of how students can react to privacy
issues in a positive way.

But what about the rest of us who are constantly being asked to give
out our personal information? Is the privacy issue something that we
should be concerned about? Yes and no. Sure, maybe you should use cash
more often, refrain from swiping those credit/debit cards and only use
your social insurance number when required. Then again, maybe the issue
isn't just about privacy, but rather our need to feed a materialistic
lifestyle by generating consumer information. You make the call. In
retrospect, maybe we should just be content that at least somewhere in
the annals of history our names will be recorded. And lunch? Well, I
hope it was worth the price of your privacy.