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The Humanist Association of Toronto
http://www.humanisttoronto.ca/

Every Saturday we meet on Zoom to discuss a topic decided upon the previous week. These are topics of humanist interest, from a humanist perspective.

The topic of the discussion will be decided in a prior meeting, usually two weeks in advance. This week’s topic is: Privacy Rights, Introduced by Catherine Francis.

Privacy Rights, Introduced by Catherine Francis

Generally, privacy rights are the rights of individuals to maintain control over their personal lives, personal information, and personal boundaries, including deciding what information is collected, how it is used, who has access to it, and under what conditions.

Privacy rights protect a person’s dignity, autonomy and freedom. They are based on the legitimate interest in keeping certain aspects of our lives confidential, but balanced against other important interests, such as public safety, organizational needs, technological innovation, or economic efficiency.

In Canada, privacy rights are protected by the federal Privacy Act (public sector), the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA - private sector) and various provincial statutes and sector-specific laws, as well as common law privacy rights. PIPEDA is based on the principles of consent, accountability, purpose limitation, and safeguards.

The following are a few discussion questions on privacy.

  1. Is privacy a fundamental human right or a privilege? Why?
  2. How have expectations of privacy changed in our lifetime?
  3. Should privacy rights be absolute or limited? If the latter, what justifies invasion of privacy?
  4. How have advances in technology affected privacy rights (for example, digital monitoring, widespread use of digital payment methods and data collection, artificial intelligence, biometrics, the proliferation of cell phones and surveillance cameras, DNA testing and databanks)?
  5. Who should be primarily responsible for protecting privacy: individuals, organizations, or governments?
  6. On an individual basis, what personal information are you most concerned about protecting? What steps do you take to protect your personal privacy?
  7. Should you have the right to erase your digital footprint?
  8. Should organizations be allowed to use your personal information for purposes beyond those originally intended?
  9. What about privacy at work? Should your employer be able to monitor your computer, access pass, emails etc.?
  10. Should children’s privacy rights get stronger protection than adults? Is banning social media for children the right answer to protecting children's privacy?

Meet our diverse group, trade perspectives in a free and open forum and learn from others as they learn from you!

BTW: don't be concerned if there are not many RSVP’s. Many HAT members attend regularly but don’t sign up on Meetup. Our online meetings have been very popular with 20-30 attendees.

NOTE: The HAT Forum adheres strictly to the City of Toronto Policy on Non-Discrimination (http://www.the519.org/public/content/policy-files/The519SpaceUsePolicy.pdf)

Our Website (http://www.humanisttoronto.ca/)

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