This document discusses privacy as the defense of one's own information portfolio in the digital world. It argues that in the information era, information is the currency and personal data has value, whether individually or in aggregate. Services provided for free online result in an exchange of personal information rather than a true free exchange. Privacy protects this information portfolio from unwanted sharing or theft of information by unauthorized parties, similar to protecting a physical portfolio of money. However, sharing information is not inherently bad if it benefits the individual. The key is ensuring personal data is used for one's own welfare and advantage.

1. Privacy
as defense of own
information portfolio
why is worth,
why defense it.
Paolo Pedaletti: Paolo.Pedaletti@OpenLabs.it
Copyright (c) 2011 Paolo Pedaletti
Version 2013­01­09
“I have nothing
to hide”
Anonymous
(ignorant)

2. Paolo Pedaletti
Privacy as defense of own information portfolio
Index
Gratis..................................................................................................................................3
The Currency “Information”...............................................................................................3
gratis services.....................................................................................................................3
Privacy................................................................................................................................4
Remote control in physical world.......................................................................................4
Privacy violation.................................................................................................................5
All bad?..............................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..........................................................................................................................5
1
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3. Paolo Pedaletti
Privacy as defense of own information portfolio
Gratis2
In the physical/material world
•
“gratis” means an unidirectional exchange of
◦ material (apples gratis, trousers gratis, ...) or
◦ services (cinema gratis, ride gratis, …)
•
“by payment” imply the bidirectional exchange of money versus
◦ material (10€ for 10Kg of apple) or
◦ services (hairdresser, accountant, …)
In the informative/digital world, services provided “gratis” are no more unidirectional
services, because implied an exchange, not material neither monetary, but informative.
In the digital world the economy can be based on the only exchange of information:
my email (history/content) exchanged with electronic mail service management (for
example)
The Currency “Information”
In the information era, the currency IS our information (in the most of the cases not alone,
but statistically aggregated).
Our data have different value in function on who knows and handle it.
The information value is not an absolute value,
but is function of the capacity of using it at own advantage.
E=mc2 can be a nonsense sequence of symbols, or an equation to produce energy and to
earn money and power (a lot of energy, money and power).
Our passion for cruises can be no valuable for our neighbor or our employer, but
(aggregated) may be a valuable information for a shipowner that have to decide if to build
a new cruise ship or not (and how big), and for a builder that have to decide where to build
his next holiday village.
gratis services
These precious informations can be easily gained providing “gratis” reservation services or
online maps. Final end­user will provide spontaneously (and often unconsciously) to the
shipowner or to the builder the information necessary to decide what is the better thing to
do. Or better... they will pay the intermediary that provide these services to the final users.
In this sense our information, the information that belong to us, that represent us (our
taste, out behavior, our activities) “it's worth”.
2 I use the term “gratis” instead of “free” because in English free may be misunderstanding with “freedom”
but here I want to mean “without fee”, “for no money”.
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4. Paolo Pedaletti
Privacy as defense of own information portfolio
Privacy
For these reason
privacy is the care of our information portfolio
Not having care of own information in the digital (informative) world, (“I have nothing to
hide”), equals to walk around with an open portfolio that leak money on the street in the
physical (material) world.
Who think that anyway has nothing to hide, has a very poor self­consideration of own
importance as human being and thus poor self­regard.
In the digital even­more­connected world we are all rich, of information, because we are
increasingly digitalizing Our Life:
•
our identity, with login and password
•
our activity, with the activity and history of our digital account or digital devices
(computer or mobile phone)
All this digital information it's worth, because it represent us and (at least still now) human
beings are worth.
It worth in aggregate manner together with other our similar (by geographic provenance,
working activity, culinary taste, …) if “common mortals” or (more rarely) it's worth
individually in case of VIP (from the political/social/economic/... point of view).
Remote control in physical world
Officially the increasing remote tracking of human being behavior (=network activity, video
recording or mobile phone tracking) is justified by a presumed contextual security
increase. Unlikely this is not automatically/inevitably true, because the solely
registration/observation/track from remote of a criminal event or behavior does not avoid
it neither guarantees the capture and punishment of the authors 3. In any case the victim
suffer the damage.
It can be said that a wide/generic and public know remote monitoring can do deterrent,
can prevent crimes, but this is not automatically true because someone could not care to be
recorded (drunk, suicide, exhibitionist, …)
But overall, trying to resolve the security problem only from the repression side without
doing nothing from the prevention side is a tragic error.
I don't want the killer of my son/wife in jail, I want my son/wife alive and healthy.
3 Bruce Schneier: http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/02/25/schneier.security.cameras
Sorridete
, siete filmati… e così poco sorvegliati
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5. Paolo Pedaletti
Privacy as defense of own information portfolio
Privacy violation
At this point it should be clear that privacy violation in the digital or physical world
correspond to theft: someone not unauthorized that access to our information (=life) to
gain personal advantage (maybe without our knowledge).
All bad?
Short answer: no.
Long answer: it depends.
It depends on what?
All Depends on how our information (information that concern to us) is used.
If it's used for our benefit, it's not bad, otherwise yes.
Our welfare must be the unit of measure that permit to decide if our information is treated
well or not.
We don't consider “privacy violation” the information that we give to our accountant
regards our money, if he/she use it for our benefit.
We don't consider “privacy violation” the information that we give to police regards our
actions, if they use it to find criminals.
Conclusion
It's not bad “per se” to share or permit that someone else can manage our information, but
it must be clear that this kind of “leaking” of information must be (even, at least) to our
advantage4.
Paolo Pedaletti
Paolo.Pedaletti@OpenLabs.IT
4) CNN: In digital world, we trade privacy for convenience
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