is privacy still relevant?

[binders]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-30/british-journo-describes-tabloid-culture-of-fear/3702966
He said he was proud that his article on paedophiles led to civil disorder in Portsmouth and reports that a misguided mob had attacked a paediatrician.

AUDIO: McMullan recalls tabloid glory days (AM)
"In a bizarre way I felt slightly proud that I'd written something that had created a riot and got a paediatrician beaten up, or whatever was the case, due to the paedo aspect of what our readers latched on to," he said.

McMullan said no-one deserved privacy, calling it merely the space bad people need to do bad things in.

"Privacy is particularly good for paedophiles, and if you keep that in mind, privacy is for paedos, fundamentally, nobody else needs it.

"Privacy is evil, it brings out the worst qualities in people, it brings out hypocrisy, it allows them to do bad things."

(this is the case referred to in the above article)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2000/aug/30/childprotection.society


http://www.hark.com/clips/jgnxbhyvys-mark-zuckerberg-on-privacy
Mark Zuckerberg on privacy:
"That social norm is just something that has evolved over time. We view it as our role in the system to constantly be innovating and be updating what our system is to reflect what the current social norms are. A lot of companies would be trapped by the conventions and their legacies of what they've built, doing a privacy change - doing a privacy change for 350 million users is not the kind of thing that a lot of companies would do. But we viewed that as a really important thing, to always keep a beginner's mind and what would we do if we were starting the company now and we decided that these would be the social norms now and we just went for it."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/11/facebook-privacy

Are Paul McMullen and Mark Zuckerberg right?
What is the purpose of privacy in the age of the internet?

[ninwa]

Haha, I read the McMullan article and found it highly amusing he seems like a dick, but an entertaining one.

This is interesting because the federal government very recently began public consultations on whether we need a statutory cause of action for serious invasions of privacy, although I'm not sure if it's a knee-jerk reaction to the News of the World stuff.

I think if you are on the internet you automatically give up some of your privacy forever. Even if you don't participate actively (e.g. making accounts and posts) you are still being tracked.

I disagree that nobody needs privacy though. I REALLY like my privacy not just because I don't want people to see the mistakes I make but also because I don't feel the need to broadcast it every time I do something good. I don't think even McMullan really means what he's saying about nobody deserving privacy. I think that's a cop-out so he doesn't get called a hypocrite if he is found guilty of invading people's privacy.

Also I'm not a pedo, at least last time I checked

[JellyDonut]

What is the purpose of privacy in general?

[binders]

It's interesting that under the current legal concept of privacy, a victim of crimes such as assault, rape etc, has to stand up in court, with the accused and their supporters present, and identify themselves and their place of residence.  In a perfect world, the assailant wouldn't go round to their house and harass them, but it happens.

However, while the accused can be made to give a blood sample for identification in assault/rape cases, they can't test the accused for disease as that counts as a privacy violation.  The victim has to get their own tests done to see if they have picked up anything.
happened to a friend of mine, went to help some guy passed out, got bitten and beaten up by the guy's mates.

I suppose one purpose of privacy is so that strangers with ill-intent can't use your personal info to your detriment. An extreme case:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-01/girl27s-family-doused-in-acid-over-marraige-refusal/3705864
if the gunmen didn't know where they lived, would they have been safe?

[Gloamglozer]

[Panicmode]

The purpose of privacy is twofold.

First, it protects each individual from discrimination and ensures maintenance of a stable mental state.

Secondly,  it serves to hinder theft and physical threats.

[Newton]

Ask those who don't have privacy?? Come one privacy is privacy...everyone needs it!