Whether Privacy is a Human Right - Research Proposal Example

Proposal for a Research Paper on Whether Privacy is a Human Right This study concerns the question whether privacy could be considered as a human right. It examines the context of this hypothesis in the modern world where technology has undergone an exponential growth and is being used for ulterior motives by different groups. The study will also dwell on the historical, anthropological and political context of privacy and its implications in the present day. Background/Introduction: In the post-globalisation era, technology has witnessed an exponential growth both in terms of the variety of gadgets and their diverse fields of application. While the advancement in technology has several advantages, it has brought with it many disadvantages, especially in the context of its use for ulterior objectives. The main issue, however, arises due to the reason that the revolutionary advancement in information technology poses a threat to privacy of individuals to the extent that any government or other agencies can gather, analyse and use the personal information on individuals for specific purposes. Similarly, in the present day, people increasingly use the information technology for different purposes including medical needs, banking, travel, communication etc, which further enhances the risk of divulging their personal information to others. Thus, the invasion of privacy remains a major challenge to the modern individual. Privacy is a quintessential component of human life and its breach can subject an individual to many harms. In an anthropological or sociological context, the term privacy has several functions. It aims to attain “freedom of association,” protects scholars and scientists from any arbitrary “interference by government,” allows “secret ballot,” acts as a restraint on “improper police conduct” and sanctions the freedom of the press (Bennett, CJ & Raab CD 2003). However, in recent times, privacy has come to acquire relevance in a political context, especially in the light of unrestrained privacy rights transcending into criminal freedom and leverage for terrorists to execute attacks. Thus, the paradigm of privacy needs to be seen in a different perspective in the present day. Research Questions: 1) To identify whether Privacy right is a Human Right of the individual. 2) To identify the various new technologies those are increasingly eroding rights of privacy rights. 3) To identify how privacy right and various other human rights guard the social value. Literature Review: Every human being has the right for his private life. There should not be any interfering by a public influence with the application of this right excluding such matter regarding the law and is essential in a self-governing culture in the welfare of public safety, general safety, or the economic safety of the country, for the avoidance of confusion or offense, for the safety of health or ethics, or for the safety of the human rights. “Privacy is the voluntary and temporary withdrawal of a person from the general society through physical or psychological means, either in a state of solitude or small-group intimacy or, when among larger groups, in a condition of anonymity or reserve”(Robertson, 1973). In the present conditions, privacy is more effective in the public. Institutional violation of human rights has provoked a massive amount of civil rights court cases arguing abuse of appropriate procedure of law and the primary right to privacy. Even though many researches argue that privacy is the right of human, it does not mean that crime and other violence is the privacy of the human. It is a different factor and should be described differently. As any actions relating to crime is a serious offence and should be punished severely. For example most of the companies and the managers with the purpose of achieving more profits often mistreat the customer’s privacy eventually smudge the status of businesses. “Privacy issues can become very controversial and touch on some of the most important ideas and debates in society today” ( Garrett, 2001). Privacy is an alternative particularly intended as a defence system for the safety of harmful behavior in which the wellbeing of individuals is envisaged as the crucial ending of all social group and wherever the broadminded declare every human. The disagreement of understanding that context privacy anxiety harmonizing individual rights, tasks and goods with community rights, and responsibilities. The moral confront has turn out to be far more distinct in the in progression stage, with interpretive disagreement posturing the substantive reasons. The structural mechanism of privacy is widespread and is connected to community role conflict and discrimination. “There are the demands of the human right to privacy in any society, but the exact levels concerned may vary in time and place. To employ an earlier distinction, basic human rights are universal in the class of persons. But derived human rights, ones that arise from applying a basic human right to a particular time and place, may vary in content from society to society” (Griffin 2008). Privacy safeguards us from mistreatment by those in control, even if were doing nothing incorrect at the point of surveillance. Thus, Privacy is an essential human need. Most of the humans are ignorant that when we go online, we go away an electronic evidence of our actions and we can without knowing give personal information to people and association that follow such information. Data’s about browsing online practice, favorite and possession is a important product for companies that carry out business on the Internet. Communication technologies permit personal information to be collected from several bases, to disclose outline in online behavior. The collected information can be put up for sale or deal to third parties such as regulation group or businesses, government departments. “Modern technology has made it possible not only to store vast quantities of data about individuals, but to view it from anywhere in the world, and to correlate data held in different databanks to produce a comprehensive profile of an individual” (Heathcoat 2003). Privacy is a significant right as it is an essential form for other rights such as autonomy and individual independence. There is therefore a connection between privacy, autonomy and human self-respect. Respecting a persons privacy is to recognize such a persons right to autonomy and to be familiar with that human being as an independent human being. The responsibility to value a persons privacy is moreover a primary and important obligation. In other words, it is not a complete obligation that does not permit for exceptions. For example; a government also has the right to collect confidential and personal information from its citizens with the aspire of guarantee order and agreement in society. The right to privacy is therefore restricted by social responsibility. “The priority given to privacy depends on the context and to some extent, the weight that a particular society or decision-making body wishes to accord such a claim. It is perhaps helpful to recall a primary purpose of protecting privacy, which is to allow for the development of the personality in relation to others without unnecessary interference” (Clapham 2007). The real-life case study explains the problem regarding the privacy of a human. It was conducted by Wiki leaks in the year 2006. The case study exposed more of the human’s privacy as regards to one’s “freedom of information.” This study gives details that the citizens have the right to be familiar with what their government is doing. The governments are of the opinion that revealing their transactions put in danger the privacy of the individuals concerned and hazard serious injure to international dealings. “If anti-corruption activist shared information about official misconduct in confidence and was exposed not only would the individual’s privacy be invaded but also his or her life could be endangered” (Senker, 2011) Ethical and Professional issues in privacy One of the major existing privacy issues is the discovery and applies of the personal information. As persons start to make use of the internet for a wider variety of reason, it become likely to confine information about the approach individuals make use of the internet and to construct outline that can be utilize for marketing reason Most people experience that they are permitted to maintain personal information, such as their bank balance, medical record and other personal information. When we acquire away someone’s privacy, we take away necessary basics of their freedom and independence as human beings. Communication technology facilitates the gathering and substitute of personal information. Therefore there is better possibility for disobeying the privacy of individuals and groups. It is the liability of professionals to keep the privacy and truthfulness of information relating to individuals. “Workplace use of the internet is an area in which particular dilemmas can arise in relation to the right to privacy. An employer’s right to protect its property and its obligations to protect all employees must be balanced with an employee’s right to privacy” (Forsythe 2009). The integration of personal and other private information of an individual into a dissimilar file than the one for which it was initially composed must be completed with the essential concern. The suitable achievement would not only be to update the user about such a integration and the inference, but also to provide the user the accurate of right to use to the information on the essential file, and the chance to modify the information where it is wrong, and the precise to recognize who is applying the information in addition to the reason of such exercise on the basis of standard of human rights, freedom and reality. Research Methodologies: Research methodology plays significant role in collecting information regarding, whether Privacy right is a Human Right of the individual. Privacy right is the fundamental human right f every individual. It underpins dignity of the human being and various other values for example freedom of speech and freedom of association. It has turn out to be one of the most significant human rights of the current age. “Privacy is recognized around the world in diverse regions and cultures. It is protected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in many other international and regional human rights treaties. Nearly every country in the world includes a right of privacy in its constitution” (Amin n.d). Methodology is the various methods by which the researches are conducted. The choice of suitable method for research is very significant, because this has influence over the information derived from the composed data. In general quantitative and qualitative main source used by the scholars for gathering data. “To be clear methodology is not the value in itself. The purpose of methodology is to enable researchers to plan and examine critically the logic, compositions and the protocols of the research methods” (Second Edition 2004). Data collection: Data collection is a significant method in collecting and gathering information. It is a vital practice in keeping track of the information for the making decision and to pass on information in the study. Data collection is connected to the privacy right of the human being. It is a fundamental human right of the people. But at the same time it is not comes under the category of the fundamental human right. Data collection is done in the course of various methods. The main sources of data collection are the primary and secondary methods of data collection. The primary method of data collection consists of the fresh data that are composed, which are not corrupted by any other aspect. This consists of vivid methods of searching for raw firsthand data in the data collection. The various means of primary data gathering are the survey method, interview method, in-depth interviews, focused group, and the qualitative methods of data collection. The secondary data sources include collecting of data by assessing the journals and peer-reviewed articles to obtain the information from the scholars and the associated groups regarding the study. Both qualitative and quantitative method is used for collecting data from the respondent. Here the method used to collect information regarding whether the privacy right is the human right qualitative research method is used. Privacy is a basic human right recognized in every major international treaties and contracts on human rights. Nearly all nations in the world identify privacy as a basic human right in their constitution, either explicitly or implicitly. Most recently drafted constitutions take account of specific rights to access and manage ones personal information. Quantitative research The quantitative approach makes use of the terminology to explain rights violations; it can also make use of scores and numbers. The quantitative study of privacy related to human rights aspires to create collective measurement for human rights in a definite place at a definite time. Qualitative research This method of research is most suitable in numerous diverse scholarly disciplines. The qualitative design discovers its use primarily in the research and in the application of the various types of social sciences. Qualitative researchers propose to gather a thorough understanding of nature of human being, behavior and the adaptation in diverse situations. The qualitative method examines the why and how in the decision making approach.” The functional or positivist paradigm that guides the quantitative mode of inquiry is based on the assumption that social reality has an objective ontological structure and that individuals are responding agents to this objective environment”(Matveev 2002). In the research point of view, the aim can be accomplished as the quantitative methods are much competent in stating the research problem deliberately and specifically. They assist in understanding the depended, the independent variables and in arriving at the apparent data on the same. The data offered are highly consistent so accessing them can be done very simply and the apparent information can be retrieved to accomplish the goals. “Quantitative analysis of quantitative data: this is the traditional practice in leadership research, with surveys and experiments as the most favored methods. Quantitative practices usually reflect a positivist stance to inquiry”(Ospina 2004). In-depth interviews: The in-depth interviews are carried out by focusing on the group and various types of questions that are employed for the examination of the same. Focus groups: The focused groups are the group which is created by certain group where the study is done depending on the approach, perception and in the course of various organizational and behavioral traits exhibited by the people. Sample population: The sample population is the population which is derived from a huge set of aims or from the larger group. It is the sample population to be discovered in the study previous to dealing with the sampling techniques and sampling size. The involvement of the sample population is derived by the planning of the study previous to making the attempt of the study. The sample design has to be planned and the population has to be anticipated from the focused groups and from the experimental groups. Subsequent to estimating the sample size, the sampling is done. The number of samples taken is 150. Once the sample size is determined, the sampling is done. Detailed Project Plan (Gantt Chart): Gantt chart: Task Starting time Finishing time. Topic selection 1.5.2012 3.5.2012 Primary research:  4.5.2012  2.6.2012 Qualitative research 4.5.2012 27.5.2012 Interview conducted 27.5.2012 2.6.2012 Secondary research: (journals and articles) 3.5.2012 16.5.2012 Data examination 17.5.2012 22.5.2012 Findings 23.5.2012 26.5.2012 Reference List Amin, A (n.d)“Bangladesh Telecommunication(amendment) Ordinance, 2005: National Security Infringement on Civil Rights?” [Online] Available at [Accessed on May 06 2012] Bennett, CJ & Raab CD (2003). The Governance of Privacy: Policy Instruments in Global Perspective. Ashgate Publishing Limited, Hampshire, England. Clapham, A (2007). Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, New York. Forsythe, DP (2009). Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Volume 1. Oxford University Press, UK. Garrett, B (2001). The Right to Privacy, The Rosen Publishing group, New York. Griffin, J (2008). On Human Rights, Oxford University Press, UK. Heathcoat, PM (2003). A Level ICT. Payne Gallway, Britain. Matveev, AV ( 2002). The Advantages of Employing Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Intercultural research: Practical Implications from the Study of The Perceptions of Intercultural Communication Competence by American and Russian Managers. Russian Communication Association. [Online] Available at [Accessed on May 06 2012] Robertson, AH (1973). Privacy and Human Rights, Manchester University Press, UK). Ospina, S. (2004).Qualitative Research. Encyclopedia of Leadership. [Online] Available at [Accessed on May 06 2012] Second Edition (2004). Sage Publication, Inc. [Online] Available at [Accessed on May 06 2012] Senker, C (2011). Privacy and Surveillance. The Rosen Publishing Group, New York. Appendix Case study: The Real-life case study put forward by Wiki leaks about the privacy of citizens of the United Nations emphasising that privacy of human right is regarded as the human’s freedom of information. (Privacy and Surveillance, Cath Senker, 2011, The Rosen Publishing Group, New York) 1) Do you think human rights are being met and everyone is getting their rights? 2) Do we have human rights to access particular information technologies, such as computers, cell phones, or the Internet? 3) What are the drawbacks of taking a human rights approach to information ethics? 4) Do the information relating to the person are protected by the new technology? Read More