The issue of the right to privacy: a study from the information ethics

Abstract

Introduction: In the context of an increasingly connected and shared world, marked by the valorization of transparency to the detriment of the actions of privacy of personal data in the digital environment, we are faced with the issue of the effectiveness of the right to privacy in cyberspace. Objective: This study seeks to investigate the issue of the right to privacy in the reality of the social network Facebook to reflect the experience of democracy in cyberspace from an empirical approach. Methodology: This research consists of a case study. The data that compose its corpus were collected from a qualitative-quantitative questionnaire. It analyzes the research corpus, and discusses the results of the study in the light of information ethics. Results: Social networks have broad access to the personal data of Internet users, in exchange for the intense investigation of the behavior and personal information of their users. The investigation of personal data also occurs among individuals, not just from digital companies alone, in a context of a digital culture of "transparency", a product of the control society. Conclusions: This study considers that the personalization of contents developed by digital companies, in exchange for the broad freedom of access to the personal data of their users, threatens the principles of autonomy and freedom in cyberspace. The investigation of personal data also occurs among individuals, as a reflection of the current culture of "transparency".