Abstract
With the emergence of difference types of media over the past several decades, various issues have come up proving to be matters of contention. Media freedom has, for instance, been an issue of debate for eons and many agree that, truly, its importance cannot be overemphasized. Governments around the world have, in many instances, tried to limit this freedom in an attempt to score politically but time and again these limitations have been met with strong resistance from various freedom and rights protection quarters. However, while in agreement on the importance of media freedom and the benefits it has brought to the world, one cannot be blind to the fundamental issue of personal privacy that has lately been at risk.
People have been found to use media freedom as an avenue to invade others’ privacy using various types of media. Therefore, this paper intends to discuss the misuse of media freedom to overstep individual right to privacy.
Keywords. Freedom, right, media, privacy.
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"Privacy in Media".
With the emergence of difference types of media over the past several decades, various issues have come up proving to be matters of contention. Media freedom has, for instance, been an issue of debate for eons and many agree that, truly, its importance cannot be overemphasized. Governments around the world have, in many instances, tried to limit this freedom in an attempt to score politically but time and again these limitations have been met with strong resistance from various freedom and rights protection quarters. However, while in agreement on the importance of media freedom and the benefits it has brought to the world, one cannot be blind to the fundamental issue of personal privacy that has lately been at risk.
People have been found to use media freedom as an avenue to invade others’ privacy using various types of media. Therefore, this paper intends to discuss the misuse of media freedom to overstep individual right to privacy.
Having been a subject of discussion for a long time, privacy in media is a general expectation that an individual’s private space should be respected as far as information distribution is concerned. Private information includes, though not limited to, written text, video and sound recording and pictures. Accessing and distributing this personal information without owner’s consent would amount to an intrusion of personal privacy. Traditional, digital, and social media have all been used in the past as platforms to infringe on individual privacy. In this case, the paper will dwell on different ways this vice has manifested itself on digital media.
With the rise of insecurity in the world, governments around the world have been in the race to update their technology all in a good course- to keep their countries safe. In The United States, for example, both the federal and the state governments have put different measures in place to curb security threats from outside and within the country especially after 9/11. Surveillance cameras installed in public buildings and streets help the security organs so much in maintaining law and order. Private sectors have as well been installing these devices in an attempt to ensure security for their property. However, the security issue is also very much misused as a scapegoat to violate private privacy. There are companies and institutions that have been found to install surveillance cameras in inappropriate areas such as bathrooms. These areas are meant to provide privacy and should be respected no matter how much the need to fight insecurity is.
Interception of phone calls commonly referred to as wiretapping is another infamous infringement of personal privacy that is used both in the private and public sectors. In the recent past, wiretapping has been so prevalent that it has even involved powerful political figures. Only recently there was a row between the governments of U.S and Germany when the latter found out their U.S counterpart had been wiretapping their Chancellor. The issue strained the relationship between the two countries very much and threatened to tear apart the peace and security that was being sought for in the first place. Wiretapping has been used on many people especially those who are thought to be involved in criminal activities, a thing that many would support, but it becomes a totally different matter when used to harm others or for political gain. It is completely immoral to tap on someone’s private conversations which may even include family secrets. Some telecommunication firms are sometimes compromised and give out records belonging to their subscribers to governments or criminals without the customer’s authority. This is very dangerous especially during this era of mobile money transfer. Adopting resolution 68/167 in 2013, the United Nations General Assembly acknowledged how surveillance and interception of communication have negatively affected human rights. It is important for all states to review their legislations related to personal privacy.
Digital media has been used wickedly in many ways to breach private privacy. Video recording is one of these ways. Cases have been reported of people leaving video recorders in private or hotel rooms to tape others private affairs. These videos are then used to blackmail the victims and extort money from them. Some people record others’ very private matters such as sexual affairs and then upload them to pornographic sites. Such cases cause unprecedented damage to the victims’ emotional lives, and they could be irreparable. Voice recording also falls under this category. Conversations on private matters could be recorded using a mobile telephone or any other sound recorder. Whether done by a government agency or a malicious individual, it is a criminal act if the parties involved did not consent. The violation of personal privacy by video and sound recording is documented in the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 and the Electronic Communications Act of 1986.
Technology has continued to develop as years go by. Any person with an intention to spy on another’s privacy nowadays could easily do so. Since the early and mid-2,000s, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, WhatsApp, Instagram and several others have taken the world by storm and completely revolutionized how the information used to pass from one person to another. Sending and receiving of data has narrowed down both in time and space. Nowadays do not have to wait for a specific time of the day to access information on a common source such as a television. One is able to comfortably send texts, videos, audio recordings and even photographs to anyone they are connected to at any time and from anywhere in the world. However, this technology came with its own shortcomings. It has made the world more vulnerable as far as rights to personal privacy is concerned. Many unsuspecting users have assisted in the violation of their own and their loved ones privacy without their knowledge. With people uploading their photographs, videos, and audio recordings on the social media, criminals do not need to plant cameras or audio recorders in their private areas. The information is simply downloaded into digital carriers such as mobile phones or memory sticks and consequently used against the victims. Many parents have created social media accounts for their underage children and allowed them to update their sensitive information hence endangering their privacy and their lives in general.
Every human being is entitled to privacy. There are aspects of life that were primarily meant to remain private, and that should be obeyed without any debate. When one’s private affairs are laid bare for everyone to see without their consent, it hurts their emotional stability and bruises their confidence. This could take ages and a great deal of counseling to heal. While it is evident that this fundamental right can be found under the umbrella of rights against arbitrary search, some may argue that personal privacy is not clearly pronounced the constitution. Therefore, this is an item that is worth space in the constitution. A few states have made an effort to solve this. However, a majority of others have continued to lag behind. The government should ensure that the laws against invasion of personal privacy are clearly stated in their depth. It is only then that this vice will be dealt with once and for all.
