In the modern society, the term “privacy” has varied meanings. It is always prevalent on social networking sites, online transaction and HIPPA. According to Professor Daniel j. Solove in his article “why privacy matters even if you have nothing to hide”, the privacy issues affect people who do the wrong and those who does the right. Solove gave more concentration on ‘I have nothing to hide’ argument, which is always a point of contention in regards to the collection and analysis of personal information by the government agencies (para.24). The author explained how this argument is argues a result of inadequate definition of privacy and what value is possessed by privacy. Those who supports the nothing-to-hide argument claims that, ‘privacy is minimal’ because personal information will not get to the public domain.
Solve claims that the argument concerning government data gathering and surveillance does give much emphasis on the issues related with the processing and storage of data collected. Instead, they concentrate on the fathering and using personal data. The professor argues that the information analysis and storage process bring about power imbalance between the government and people.
Confidentiality is not compromised only a few extreme act, but rather by gradual accumulation of petty acts that are unobtrusive. Every act my look petty, but with time, the authorities will have known everything about every individual.
Daniel J. Solove is a professor of law in George Washington university school of law and has prowess on the internet privacy law. He also founded the TeachPrivacy, a firm that offers data security and privacy training program. My essay is an extract of his book, Nothing to Hide, The False Tradeoff between Privacy and Security (para.30).
In the introduction of the article, Solove focused on developing his intrinsic ethos and built an ethical appeal to his audience. It is a preface of what the article will discuss in details. He started by stating a basis syllogism which is the antithesis to his argument. That is one only has sometime to hide if they are doing a wrong. The statement concurs with articles title and creates trust between the readers and the writer by acknowledging a mutual belief held by the audience. He also establishes his ethos by demonstrating his scholarly recognition and shows his prowess in international discourses in relation to privacy issues.
Solove built his logos by giving two analogies to the audience. The first is based on George Orwell’s which talks about totalitarian society being rule by a government while obsessive citizens are watching.
With the mindful arrangement of the essay and effective utilization of rhetorical tools, Solove convinced the audience that the “nothing to hide” part in the privacy argument is one-sided and narrow way of understanding privacy.
References
Solove, D. (2011). “Why Privacy Matters even if you have ‘Nothing to Hide’”. The Chronicle Review. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Privacy-Matters-Even- if/127461/
