QuickStudy: Privacy Glossary

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March 15, 2004 (Computerworld) -- To help the reader sort through the barrage of terms thrown around in the privacy debate, here's a glossary that we've divided into two sections: commonly understood notions, and related technological terms.

Within the context of the Internet, the right to privacy is still being defined. Generally, it involves a person's right to control what information about himself is revealed and to whom, as well as what others may do with that information. It's not the same thing as secrecy, but the distinction is sometimes murky. Privacy isn't an absolute right, since it's often trumped by laws and overriding social needs. For example, law enforcement officials may obtain warrants that allow them to intercept communications or search physical areas, activities that otherwise would be forbidden.

Anonymity There are times when we're willing to supply personal information, provided it's not connected directly to us. When we respond to a survey, for example, we may feel comfortable about revealing personal information, such as income and lifestyle choices, because we believe that our answers won't be linked in any way to our names or other identifying information. And there are other times when anonymity can be desirable -- for example, when reporting a crime.

Online, we can use an Internet site called a remailer that reposts a message from the site's own address, thus concealing the originator of the message. However, remailers have a tarnished image, since many spam distributors also use remailers. (See also anonymizer, below.)

Confidentiality Despite the absence of legal compulsions, most of us expect to be able to hold at least some personal information in confidence, and if we give that information to someone -- such as when filling out a loan or employment application -- we expect the other party to take security measures to protect that information and not to share it with others.

Privacy in the law The Privacy Act of 1974 asserts that an agency of the U.S. government must not conceal the existence of any personal data record-keeping system, and each agency that maintains such a system must describe publicly both the kinds of information in it and the manner in which it will be used. The law defines eight principles on which to base and enforce privacy policy: openness, individual access, individual participation, collection limitation, use limitation, disclosure limitation, information management and accountability.

Pseudonymity This concept originated in the field of cryptography. Pseudonymity is the ability to prove a consistent identity without revealing one's actual name, instead using an alias or pseudonym. Pseudonymity combines many of the advantages of both a known identity and anonymity. In anonymity, one's identity isn't known, but pseudonymity creates a separate, persistent "virtual" identity that can't be linked to a specific person, group or organization. Pseudonymous remailers, called "nym servers," take messages addressed to the pseudonym and resend them to the pseudonym's real e-mail address, and they can also forward messages to others as though they came from the pseudonym's address on the server. And unlike with anonymous e-mail, users can reply to a pseudonymous sender, and pseudonyms can establish reputations in the digital world.

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