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26 J. Consumer Pol'y 419 (2003)
Technology, Families, and Privacy: Can We Know Too Much about Our Loved Ones?

handle is hein.journals/jrncpy26 and id is 419 raw text is: Robert N. Mayer Technology, Families, and Privacy: Can We Know Too Much About Our Loved Ones? ABSTRACT. Both an array of privacy advocates and a body of privacy policies have emerged to reduce threats to personal privacy posed by Big Government and Big Business. Technologies that threaten personal privacy when employed by large insti- tutions are increasingly being used by family members to track one another, but without a comparable level of societal scrutiny and control. This paper examines four such technologies - internet tracking software, global positioning systems, miniature cameras, and genetic tests - to gauge their level of use and public acceptance and then to consider their impact on family relations, especially those between parent and child and between spouses. While these technologies are intended to promote the safety of family members, by disrupting personal privacy, they may also provoke a number of counterproductive responses that reduce safety. Moreover, the deployment of these technologies may inhibit the development of trust and trustworthiness within the family. Partly owing to a lack of understanding of how new technologies affect family relations, both formal and informal efforts to control these technologies have been slow to develop. Bombarded with news about international terrorism, identity theft, and uncontrollable diseases, individuals feel compelled to sacrifice some of their personal privacy for greater health, safety, and security. Most people are willing to accept increased surveillance (by hidden cameras or internet-monitoring software) and access to their stored personal data (such as financial transactions, telephone calls, or educational records) if less privacy translates into fewer threats to physical, mental, or financial well-being. When surveillance and accessing personal information are con- ducted by governments or businesses, people give up their privacy grudgingly. Privacy advocates and government privacy guardians ensure that new technologies like Carnivore (to intercept and analyze email messages) and programs like Total Information Awareness(to mine telephone records, bank accounts, medical histories, and travel data) are hotly debated and closely scrutinized. This same delibera- tion and control disappears, however, when technologies are used Journal of Consumer Policy 26: 419-439, 2003. I 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.