Definitions

Oxford dictionary:
A state in which one is not observed or disturbed by other people.
- The state of being free from public attention.

Merriam-Webster dictionary:

the quality or state of being apart from company or observation : seclusion
freedom from unauthorized intrusion - one's right to privacy
archaic : a place of seclusion
secrecy
a private matter : secret

plural: privacies - first known use: 15th century

The "Why Privacy? I have nothing to hide!" fallacy illustrated.
Lothar Fritsch, DOI 10.13140/RG.2.2.32495.74408, october 2017

The right to be let alone

"Recent inventions and business methods call attention to the
next step which must be taken for the protection of the person,
and for securing to the individual what Judge Cooley calls the
right "to be let alone" Instantaneous photographs and newspaper
enterprise have invaded the sacred precincts of private and
domestic life; and numerous mechanical devices threaten to make
good the prediction that "what is whispered in the closet shall be
proclaimed from the house-tops." (Warren/Brandeis, 1890).

"It is our purpose to consider whether the existing law affords
a principle which can properly be invoked to protect the privacy of
the individual; and, if it does, what the nature and
extent of such protection is." (Warren/Brandeis, 1890).

Warren/Brandeis defined privacy as a ”right to be let alone” (1890) inspired by social invasion caused by new media, esp. invasive press photography. They conceptualized “privacy invasion” inspired by property invasion and bodily invasion (e.g. physical punishment or assault)., and thereby let the concept of privacy enter the legal discussion. In their article, they argue how privacy regulation would not infringe on the freedom of the press - and how sanctions for violations could be implemented.

Privacy and privacy violations

“Privacy is the claim of individuals, groups, or institutions to determine for themselves when,
how, and to what extent information about them is communicated to others. Viewed in terms of
the relation of the individual to social participation, privacy is the voluntary and temporary
withdrawal of a person from the general society through physical or psychological means, either
in a state of solitude or small-group intimacy or, when among larger groups, in a condition of
anonymity or reserve.” (Alan Westin, 1967)

With the appearance of computers and more and more automated state surveillance, the right to privacy was transformed into a perspective on the control of data dissemination. Unauthorized collection and use of personal data was considered a risk to the freedom of the individual. However this is not an exclusively digital problem.

Bismarck scandal (1898)

«Bismarck auf dem Sterbebette», 1898
Major scandal in Prussia / Deutsches Reich
Photographers Willy Wilcke & Max Christian Priester entered bedroom at night and arranged the corpse for photography.
Tried to capitzlize photos by offering prints via newspaper ads. Arrested and sentenced to prison.
1907: law on «right on own image»
Photo first published in1952 in „Frankfurter Illustrierte“.

Source: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bismarck_auf_dem_Sterbebett (in German)

The article “Taxonomy of Privacy” by Dan Solove (2006) extends the concept to a multi-step concept applied to privacy into the digital age. Solove shows how personal data can cause harm to persons. Figure 1 below shows the four areas of actions that violate privacy from Solove's taxonomy:

Figure 1: Privacy-volating actions after (Solove, 2006).

The four privacy-violating actions are:

Information collection: Solove groups information collection about data subjects in two groups: surveillance and interrogation. Surveillance refers to observation and collection without the data subject's active support. Interrogation refers to data colelction as a result of asking the data subject in one way or another.
Information processing: Information processing is the activity that uses or aggregates personal data, binds it to an identified person or to other identified data. Secondary use outside of a collection purpose as well as concerns of data subject discrimination and other issues of power are part of these activities.
Information dissemination: Any disclosure of personal information to other parties, e.g a confidentiality breach, data lost to hackers, or intentional transfer of data to 3rd parties are part of the dissemination activities. Consequences for data subjects are disclosure, exposure, increased accessibility, and possible distortions of life such as blackmail, appropriation and others.
Invasions: These activities invade directly into the lifes of data subjects. Solove mentions intrusions (uninvited contact, e.g. for advertising or by stalkers) and decisional interference against the data subject (e.g. when systems price-discriminate based on personal data collections).

References

Warren and Brandeis: “The Right to Privacy”, Harvard Law Review, V. IV, No. 5, December 1890 [link1] [link2]
Alan F. Westin: Privacy and Freedom; Atheneum, New York 1967.New volume in Nov. 2015 published with ISBN 978-1935439974.
D. Solove, "A taxonomy of privacy," University of Pennsylvania Law Review, vol. 154, pp. 477-564, January 2006 [link]

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