Paragraph on Right to Privacy – by Anand

Introduction:

Right to privacy is one the basic human rights of the people of the world. Right to privacy signifies the ability to control the accessibility or deniability of one’s own personal information.

The privilege of right to privacy vests in every citizen. However, in the modern world, the right to privacy is under severe threat from external forces. The line between public and private is blurring. Right to privacy remains in danger.

Private Life and Public Life:

To better understand the right to privacy, one should recognize and understand the distinction between public life and private life. Private life is the life of a person which remains in his home. It does not affect the events happening outside his house. On the contrary, public life deals with the events which affect the society. The public life happens outside the homes of individuals. Previously, there used to be a clear demarcation of the two lives. However, presently, the line is blurring with the advent of the information technology and the rise of hackers, viruses, scammers etc.

Importance of Right to Privacy:

With the rise of information technology, the personal data of the individuals is under serious threat of being leaked, misused or violated. Individuals generally store their information on online portals which are prone to be hacked by scammers, hackers etc. One’s own bank details, personal details etc can be accessed by any expert hacker who can use the same in any manner he likes.

Why Do We Need Privacy Laws?

Privacy laws are enacted for a reason. Though they impose too many restrictions on the people, they protect the individuals from intrusion by outside forces. One can always give up one’s right to privacy but the consequences of the same could be drastic. The amount of personal information that can be hacked today of a single individual is enough to hurt him for life. Legislations have to be enacted so that people remain safe. Privacy laws also govern the sensitive information which if leaked, may cause wide scale uproar.

Drawbacks of Privacy Laws:

Though the privacy laws are enacted to protect us from harm, they come with a number of drawbacks. The government at times, breaks the privacy laws in the name of security. It intrudes into the people’s personal data files under the garb of protecting the nation. People tend to give up their privacy rights during emergencies for the accumulation of greater intelligence by the Government but there is no certainty that the same rights will be granted back to the people after the emergency is over. The Government very discreetly seeks the phone, bank, travel records of the people under the privacy laws and misuses them.

Conclusion:

The right to privacy despite being one of the most essential and fundamental rights of a person, is under grave threat. Measures have to be taken by the Government as well as the individuals to make sure that the perpetrators or violators of the right to privacy do not get the information that they seek.