A Philosophical Dimension On Privacy In The Information Era

The awareness of privacy can be traced back to the primitive society when people covered the body with leaves.Based on the division of the public and private field in the ancient Greek period,“privacy” appears as a personal right in the legal field in the 19 th century.The meaning of privacy is enriched by times.But the philosophical nature and value of privacy have never changed.Privacy always is based on the self-awareness and the recognition of others.It ultimately points to personal dignity and freedom.In the age of information,the rapid development of science and technology has brought unprecedented threats to individual privacy.With the development and popularization of technologies such as big data,new media and the Internet of things,massive amounts of personal information will be collected and used.Personal life is exposed unavoidably.In this "transparent" society,people gradually find that privacy is nowhere to be placed.The concern for privacy issues reflects the philosophical confusions of how to establish self and maintain personal dignity and freedom when people face the temptation and pressure of new technology.As the collection of personal information is considered to enhance public security,the abandonment of personal privacy is the price of security for some people.Privacy has been given new features because of the virtuality and reality of network space.The demarcation of the public and private field has become difficult.It is difficult to balance both security and privacy protection.In view of the unlimited value of personal information,the governments,media institutions,businesses even individuals may become the subject of privacy invasion at any time.How to protect privacy has become the most pressing issue in the information age.This article believes that at the institutional level,the law is lagging behind the development of technology.Making laws does not fully satisfy the growing privacy protection requirements.Therefore,it also needs to be combined with the level of ideology.People should defend the subjective consciousness resolutely,build a good network ethics order and cultivate a positive culture of privacy.At the same time on the technical level,people may adopt value-sensitive design methods to protect privacy by privacy-enhancement technologies,encryption technologies and more.