Choose Privacy Week May 1 - May 7, 2012

Submitted by Janet on April 30, 2012 - 9:07am
in
Choose Privacy Week

Choose Privacy Week will take place May 1-7, 2012 and is an ongoing program of the American Library Association.

Choose Privacy Week is an initiative that invites library users into a national conversation about privacy rights in a digital age. The campaign gives citizens the resources to think critically and make more informed choices about their privacy.

Barbara Jones, executive director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), discusses Choose Privacy Week (May 1-7, 2012), a national public awareness campaign that aims to educate the public on how to protect their privacy and understand their rights.

The Situation
It’s time for Americans to take charge of their information privacy.

We live in an age when knowledge is power. New technologies give us unprecedented access to information. They also facilitate surveillance, with the power to collect and mine personal information.

People enjoy the convenience of having information at their fingertips. But most people don’t realize the trade off. For example, citizens turn a blind eye to the fact that online searches create traceable records that make them vulnerable to questioning by the FBI, or that government agencies can track their phone calls, airline travel, online purchases, and more.

In this environment, convenience and fear trump the fundamental right of privacy. And privacy has become so amorphous an idea that many citizens have resigned themselves to an inevitable erosion of rights.

In an information age, it’s vital to protect the impulse to be curious, read, and learn. Yet people seem resigned to the loss of their privacy rights because they see no recourse.

Take charge of your privacy now!

See PrivacyRevolution.org for further discussion and videos.

Denver Public Library's Privacy Policy

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous on April 30, 2012 - 11:16am.
In our current climate, some folks are willing to give up some of their rights for a semblance of security. Benjamin Franklin said, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty." Make smart choices, protect your right to privacy and to liberty.

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