Ethical Writing Assignment : Privacy I

A lot of arguments arises whether if it is right to intrude on another's privacy. I don't believe that it is right to intrude on anyone's privacy. Unless many people will talk about mother spying on her child. I don't think she's intruding into her child's privacy unless he/she will become grown up personality. As a kid, it is their parents responsibility to observe their children. A small kid don't know what is right or wrong. Besides, if you are doing it on a grownup child then it is wrong. Correspondingly, as one of example given in 'The virtuous spy' where McCloskey defend his belief that spying on minors is acceptable reflects the moral preoccupation of another, patriarchal era: the sexual seduction of young daughters by older men. But it is not clear that his concern was that the seducer is liable for tortuos "alienation of affection" or for criminal statutory rape, If we talk globally, I don't think it is right to interfere in someone's privacy.

The right to privacy often must be balanced against the state's compelling interests, including the promotion of public safety and improving the quality of life. A person has the right to determine what sort of information about them is collected and how that information is used. Internet users can protect their privacy by taking actions that prevent the collection of information. Most people who use the Internet are familiar with tracking cookies. These small stores of data keep a log of your online activities and reports back to the tracker host. The information is usually for marketing purposes

Constitutional rights on privacy:

·      The First Amendment protects the privacy of beliefs

·      The Third Amendment protects the privacy of the home against the use of it for housing soldiers

·      The Fourth Amendment protects privacy against unreasonable searches

·      The Fifth Amendment protects against self-incrimination, which in turn protects the privacy of personal information

·      The Ninth Amendment says that the "enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people." This has been interpreted as justification for broadly reading the Bill of Rights to protect privacy in ways not specifically provided in the first eight amendments.

(source: http://www.livescience.com/37398-right-to-privacy.html)

The origins of the right to privacy can be traced to the nineteenth century. In the reading, Warren and Brandies, they articulated a general constitutional right "to be let alone," which is described as the most comprehensive and valued right of civilized people. That was in late nineteenth or early twentieth century. For the next half century, the right to privacy gradually evolved. Today, every jurisdiction in the country recognizes some form of constitutional, common-law, or statutory right to privacy.