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MatthewLangley
PersonalPrivacyPaper
9/20/15

Privacy to me means more than being allowed to lock the bathroom door behind me.
Privacy is anessentialfreedomthateachandeveryoneofusdeserves. Ibelievethatprivacyisa
human right. I believe, as long as it does not affectthewellbeingofanyone,everysingleliving
person on this earth has the righttoprivacytotheextenttheybelieveisnecessary. Ibelieveany
governing body, unless to counter a particular and evident threat, does not have the right to
invade an individuals privacy by any means. I believe that anonymity in a cyber aspect is a
human right as well. Unless illegal activity is going on,everyonehastherighttovisitwhatever
sitestheywanttoaslongastheyunderstandtheterms. Similarly, Ibelievethatanemployerhas
the right to keep intellectual property a private matter at their discretion. Lastly I believe
everyone has the right to protect their personal information from anyorallundesiredrecipients.
Personal information whether it be something as simple as age or sex, to more complex things
like blood type the owner of that identity has the right to keep those details private. My own
personal concept of privacy is a complex and deeprooted concept that Iwillelaborateontothe
best of my ability. Driving factors that have some sort of influence of how my concept of
privacy was formed are factors like my family, my friends, my living quarters, my work
experience,andmyupbringing.
One of the largest contributing factors to my personal concept of privacy would be my
family. Family has such a huge factor in how any individual would develop their personal
beliefs, whether it be religion, favorite sports teams, or work ethic family is amajorfactorinto
shaping the personal beliefs of our youth. Privacy is no exception. Just as with any parents

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would do with their children, my parents began at an early age teaching me some of the values
they heldnearanddeartotheirhearts. Thingslikesharing,religion,compassion,friendship,and
community were all taught to me at a very young age. I remember my first lesson in privacy
(that I can remember) was taught to me by my dad. Irememberthebathroom doorinhishouse
neverhadalockonit,andIwouldusethebathroomfreelywheneverIdeemednecessary. When
I was about 6 years old I remember walking into the bathroomwhenmysister(whowas7)was
deciding to take a shower. Although Ididnt usuallydostufflikethis,Iwasbeingselfish. Why
should I be denied the right to use the bathroom the minute I had to go? Of course my sister
freaks out and calls for some parental intervention. My dad swiftly informed me that every
member in his home is entitled to their own physical privacy. This includes privacy in the
bathroom,andprivacybehindcloseddoors.Thiswouldbemyfirstlessoninprivacy.
Another major force that helped shape the way I view privacy was the contrast of
physical surroundings during my upbringing. Things like my house, my neighborhood,andmy
circle of friends all had a great deal of influence when it comes to forming my own sense of
privacy. Growing up it was mainly my mother, my sister, and myself. We lived in what
dwellings a single mother could provide at the time, which was usually apartments or condos.
Me and mysisteralwayssharedaroom,wherethenmymomusuallyoccupiedtheonebedroom.
We ate dinner, watched tv, and greetedguestallinthesamefrontroom. Livingspacewastight,
and our sense of privacy was nonexistent. We were always physically close, and due to this
physical proximity to the rest of my household I think I always desired personal privacy. My
mom, being the primary caregiver for meandmysister,neverhadtoomuchprivacyofherown.
Her parenting style was very open and straightforward. There were never any secrets, lies,

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hiding places, or locked doors. Her lack of privacy, I believe, only drove me to want it even
more. Having to always share a room with my sister,Irememberjustthethoughtofhavingmy
own room was exciting enough to distract me from the fact that I indeed did not have one. My
mom married my stepdad when I was about 10 and we were finally able to move into a much
larger house. It was at this new house where my lifelongdreamfinallycametrue. Iwasgiven
my own room and my own living space lots of it too! AfterIwasabletohavemyownspace,
my personal view of howprivatemy live shouldbedramaticallychanged. Myroombecamemy
own personal sanctuary. I loved finally being able to have my own stuff separate from my
sister's things. My friends could hang out there, I could build stuff there, and I could dream
there. I made people knock beforeentering,lockedthedoor tochange,andkeptthedoorshutat
night time. It truly was my first, and strongest, sense of personal privacy. Iwasthekingofmy
small castle. Due to the fact that my upbringing started in a very open and sharedlivingspace,
then transitioned into a much more private setting my personal view of privacy shifted and
helpedformthewayIreacttoprivacytoday.
The last factor that helped me form the way I feel about privacy today would be my
workplace. I got my first (and only) job when I was 14. I remember starting out my job we
always had different codes and passwords to identify who we were and our level of privilege
for the work we were doing. Istartedoutintheofficejustfilingpaperworkanddoingverylight
work. As the years went on I started taking on more and more responsibility, whicheventually
led me to a human resources position. At each step along the way I had access to (and much
more lack of access to) certain systems associated with our business. As my responsibilities
increased, the curtain of privacy for the company I worked for, slowly got lifted. I remember

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first starting out at my job being frustrated because I could hardly log on toacomputerwithout
having to get an administrator password. As my time with the company continued, more and
more privilege was given to me. Similar to the contrasting situation between my family life
before and after my stepdad, the sense of different levels of privacy in the workplace were
engraved into me. After I made it to the top, so to speak, I realized theimportanceofhaving
certain information being privateorpublic. Theprivacyofintellectualpropertybecameareality
to me, and its thanks to my workplace that I have the sense ofpersonalprivacythatIdotoday.
Although I didnt work in a corporate setting, I believe my general beliefsaboutprivacyshould
apply to a more corporate workplace as well. I support the idea that a network administration
team, within a specific corporation, has the right to controlandmonitorwhateverinformationis
sent and received from their network. As an employee using a corporate network, it should be
understood thatallcomputer activity performedatworkshouldinfactbeworkrelated. Byusing
the computer at work, you are essentially agreeing to the terms of that network. In most
situations, those terms include monitoring and tracking. If you are the owner of a network, I
believe you have the right to dowhateveryouwantwithit. Incontrastwiththisbelief,Ibelieve
that your personal home network should not be monitored, if you explicitly request that it not.
Of course there are services like Google that automatically track what you type to better target
you for advertisements, but astheuseryoushouldbeawareoftheservicesyouare usingandthe
terms associated with them. Same goes for email. Although it is generally understood that
emails go from one destination to the next, and it is considered inappropriate to copy and
distribute that email to your entire address book we have to understand the terms that are
associated with email. Email is a digital letter that is copied an infinite number of times and

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will never truly go away. I understand thegeneralethicsbehindemail,andthelevelofprivacy

that is courteous to have when using it as a line of communication, but if I were to ever have
some extremely private and sensitive information in my possesion email would not be my
preferred method of communication. Oneofmystrongestbeliefswhenitcomestoprivacy,isto
know and understand the level of privacy that is possible in any given situation, before you get
into it. For example, it would be ignorant of me to assumethatwhenIsendthreateningtextsto
my teachers, that the police department wouldnt be quickly knocking on my door. I am
understanding by using an SMS text messaging service, that if my governing body deemed
appropriate, they could easily gather all my messages and track them to my location. By using
the service, I am agreeing to its terms. This goes for any line of communication. Privacy is a
very real part of our everyday lives, and the question will always remain if we truly have it or
not. I believe privacy is a human right, and everybody deserves it to the extent their heart
desires. Thetricktoprivacyisknowingtowhatextentitisevenpossible,andafterthatfighting
for it. If we continue to fight for our rights for privacy, we can someday live in a country that
has a slightly more handsoff approach to government but until then we have to understand
theamountofprivacythatispossiblewithinanygivensituation.