Who will guard our privacy online?

Recently I’ve spent a good deal of my time thinking, reading and talking about online privacy. As Facebook and the rest of the social media set become more of a fixture in our lives, the public’s concern about privacy issues have become increasingly pronounced. Every Facebook incident seems to get widespread media coverage.

We’ve also been hearing a lot recently from the government about the amazing proliferation of services that will result from the National Broadband Network. Already, new sites and services pop up every day and have the potential to change lifestyles. There’s a cost, though, to shifting more of our work and social lives online, and this is our privacy.

The last year has seen an upsurge in news about threats to our privacy. Facebook’s decision to change their privacy settings caused an uproar when it was revealed users would be forced – some say, even tricked – into making more information public. More recently, Google received a rap over the knuckles for inadvertently compiling a database of information sniffed from open wireless connections as their street view cars prowled the neighbourhood. Scarier still, it has been revealed that the Attorney-General’s department are pushing for a scheme that would require all Australian phone and internet companies to keep records of your communications – phone, SMS, even email and web – in case it might be needed in a criminal investigation.

Other forces are aligned against our privacy. Of course, we know criminals would like to get their hands on our private information so they could exploit our identities and bank accounts. But the biggest threat is commercial. We willingly give our information to social networking sites and other services, because in return we reap a reward; a greater ability to stay in touch with our friends, say, or an easier way to plan travel. But that data we give is exploited to the hilt for the purposes of marketing and advertising, and the more that can be gained and the wider it can be shared, the more valuable it becomes.

With such pressures arrayed against our right to privacy, is it time to panic? Is privacy, indeed, a thing of the past? We shouldn’t give up on the concept just yet.

Even those of us with “nothing to hide” should value our privacy. It’s not just the government we can fear. Any of us could face a situation where an ex-lover, potential employer or curious parent might search us out online. Some people are more willing to share than others, but we almost all agree – we want control over what happens to information about our lives.

On the positive side, our government and others around the world are taking the matter seriously. The Australian Senate are conducting an inquiry into the adequacy of protections for online privacy and our nation’s privacy laws are set for a major overhaul in the near future. Tools that enable anonymous web use continue to be developed. And most importantly, public consciousness is being raised about the issue.

Our future is going to be one that is increasingly wired and connected, and it may be a fact of life that the level of privacy we can expect will be less in such a world. Each and every one of us will have to become guardians of our own privacy, and learn to stop and think before we give it up. Can we really trust the website or mobile app we are about to let into our lives? Governments can only do so much to protect us. The skill to judge the risks are something we are going to have to learn, and that is perhaps the biggest privacy challenge we face today.