Privacy, Culture and Dispute Resolution in the Internet Age

The process of digitalization has challenged our traditional distinction between public and private space, our conception about privacy and transparency. Many of us are connected with internet on a daily, hourly or even minute basis with the aid of smartphone devices.  The Internet society has given us more information than ever before, but at the cost of our privacy.

In fact, we ourselves are the providers of our private information on the Internet, without being fully aware of the consequences of such disclosure. When subscribing to various social networks, we are voluntarily disclosing our personal information such as name, email, address, age, when shopping online we are giving away our private information such as name, credit card information, and even our surfing and purchasing habits. Such information, once distributed, is difficult to control and will never be completely erased. The chart of Facebook’s change of default privacy policy vividly illustrates the erosion of our privacy on the Internet.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that sharing private information online with the faceless masses had become a “social norm”. His remark raises an interesting issue as to whether development of technology will change our cultural attitudes towards privacy, and allow a greater acceptance of transparency.  The warnings of the threat to our privacy when connecting to the internet has not stopped us from shopping online, posting on blogs, or connecting on the facebook, twitter, linkin, weibo, and so on. Does that mean that we are willing to accept less privacy in our lives? Is our society shifting towards a bigger public space and looser attitude of privacy?

Another example of the blurring sphere between public and private in the Internet age is the emergence of online dispute resolution (ODR). This online format offers faster and cheaper resolutions of disputes, especially for Internet-related disputes, than the traditional alternative dispute resolution (ADR) conducted offline, but also poses important challenges to the issue of privacy and confidentiality. ADR (ie, mediation, arbitration) is traditionally associated with the privacy and confidentiality of its process and outcomes, contrasted to transparent court proceedings. ODR, by its nature, is likely to be less private and confidential than conventional ADR, because of the persistence of the digital footprint. All these developments make us to rethink the new relationships between technology, privacy, culture and the law in the Internet society. 

Note: This comment was originally posted by Kun Fan on Meridian-180 on the Forum of Privacy.

Source:adrthoughts