Editor's View: Is Privacy an Unalienable Right, and Can We Keep It?

Recently, while watching
the 2010 CNBC documentary,
"The Facebook
Obsession," on my Netflix
account, I was struck
again by the public's view
of their perceived privacy
on the Internet and social
media platforms, like Facebook. This particular documentary detailed the
story of Dr. June Talvitie-Siple, a former Massachusetts school administrator,
and her subsequent firing after she posted negative comments about
her school's students and parents on her Facebook page. This story certainly
is not new. Most recently, Marine Corps Sergeant Gary Stein received
an other-than-honorable discharge after criticizing his commander-in-chief,
President Barack Obama, on his Facebook page. Whether through
ignorance of privacy policies or belief in freedom of speech, these incidents,
including recent stories of employers requesting private Facebook
logins during the interview process, show there is ambiguity today regarding
our privacy rights. In fact, a survey released in April by Siegel+Gale, a
global strategic branding firm, found that "users have little understanding
of how Facebook and Google track and store user information and activity,
and how information is shared and with whom."

This heated debate over privacy concerns and the goldmine that
exists within our customers' data certainly does not have an evil villain;
well, not a single one that is. Facebook has been known to be
nonchalant regarding criticisms over their privacy policies; Google
moved forward in its roll-out of its revamped privacy policy, despite
European Union privacy regulators' concern over potential violations
of its data protection laws; some Washington politicians accuse and
lay the blame over privacy concerns at the door of Silicone Valley;
and now, back for round two, the US House of Representatives in
April passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act
(CISPA), which allows the government and corporations to easily
exchange confidential customer records and communications. No
matter the source of our privacy headaches,
the fact remains it is a concern. According
to a new survey from Consumer Reports,
71% of respondents reported they are "very
concerned" about companies that sell their
information unbeknownst to users.

As businesses, we all recognize the power
and return on investment that our customers'
data holds. The way we collect, store,
analyze and use this data often determines
our success and longevity as an enterprise.
Yet, so many of us, myself included, believe
the ownership of this very data we value is
often considered an unalienable right as a
human being. Though privacy is not listed in
our unalienable rights in the Declaration of
Independence, so many believe it is implied
and that we alone, as humans, have a right
to own our personal data no matter what services
we may use. The fragile veil between
us, the business, and our customer is rapidly
disappearing. Is there a line between private
and public anymore? Some tech companies
would argue, "No." I'm sure consumers
would have a different opinion.
As our culture evolves its communication
behaviors and morays on privacy, companies
are left to wonder, "How much is too
much?