A Behavioural Understanding of Privacy and its Implications for Privacy Law

Abstract

This article draws upon social interaction theory (the work of Irwin Altman) to develop a theory of the right to privacy, which reflects the way that privacy is experienced. This theory states that the right to privacy is a right to respect for barriers, and that an invasion of privacy occurs when a privacy barrier is penetrated. The first part of the paper establishes the position of the author's theory in the existing scholarship. The second part of the paper expands upon the theory to explain the nature of privacy barriers and the way that the author's theory manages a number of specific privacy issues, including threats to privacy, attempted invasions of privacy, unforeseeable interferences with privacy and waiving the right to privacy. The final part of the paper demonstrates the impact that this approach to privacy could have upon judicial reasoning, in particular Article 8 European Convention on Human Rights.

Privacy: Theoretical and Legal Issues

“…Alan Westin identified four types of privacy: solitude, intimacy, anonymity, and reserve; these states of privacy range from experiences of privacy when one is alone to experiences of privacy in public (Westin, 1967). Even if we can identify objectively designated 'private places' the idea that we only seek or experience privacy in those spaces is unrealistic and does not accord with how we behave in practice (Westin, 1967;Altman, 1975;Moreham, 2006;Hughes, 2012).…”

“…However, Solove offers no means of identifying these 'intrusions'. Hughes suggests that one solution to this problem might be to examine the way in which we experience privacy, and in particular the role that barriers play in establishing privacy, (Hughes, 2012; see also Rickless, 2007;and Altman, 1975).…”

“…The test has also been used in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights as well as the English law of misuse of private information. The test is used in different contexts in different jurisdictions (Hughes, 2012) and its capacity to deal with the problems that we face is contested (Solove, 2010;Kerr, 2007Kerr, , 2008Hughes, 2012).…”

Information privacy concern at individual, group, organization and societal level - a literature review

“…The increase in sharing information may lead to, in some ways, breaches in privacy. The state of privacy (Hughes, 2012) defined in different types of barriers in privacy concern. They are mainly physical, behavioural and normative.…”

Multiple Means of Engagement Strategies for Maximising the Learning of Mathematics in Pandemic-regulated Classrooms

“…Three domains of engagement have been identified through the literature, namely "cognitive, emotional, and behavioural engagement" (Fredricks et al 2004). Behavioural engagement is often observed through actions such as learners paying attention and cooperating and participating in class activities (Hughes, 2012), while cognitive engagement is exhibited through selfefficacy, motivation, focus, and psychological effort from an individual (Duchesne & Ratelle, 2010). "Emotional engagement" is noticeable through a sense of community and belonging, support in the classroom, identifying with school, and one's feelings towards school and learning (Fredricks et al 2004).…”