The Right To Know !

It seems that "  Privacy  " is no longer a right for the average citizen.   The moment we attract the interest of the news media because we become the victim of a road accident or we witness an incident that involves the police both our name and picture may appear in a newspaper report or on the television news - and that information will include our age.

Many people - and specially women - are sensitive about their age and yet whenever we are called upon to provide our identity that age question seems to automatically be part of the process and in many cases it becomes part of the judgement people make in evaluating the story.

Should a seventy year old pedestrian become the victim of a street attack by a drunken reveller most people will feel sympathy, but should the victim be a twenty-two year old many will wonder if he did something to provoke that attack.  We do tend to evaluate the seriousness of incidents by considering age as a contributing factor.

Another area of sensitivity is the salary we earn.   That is part of the image we project in the society in which we live and it further manifests itself in the house we occupy and the car we drive.  Various levels of seniority in the workplace deliver a mix of pay levels and to most families their earnings are a very private matter.  Pay and bonuses have become common conjecture in the media as the subject has become part of political debate.

Recently, the dignity of a man charged with bringing a government entity into the black from a calamitous financial position had his salary publicly questioned and compared with holders of similar job levels.   That man saw fit to tender his resignation and will no doubt seek new challenges in the commercial world.  Wherever he settles, the salary he negotiates will undoubtedly be of interest to the media and will be discussed in a public forum.

It seems that what we considered our right to secrecy is now " public information " but the wheels have turned when it comes to delving into our past.   We have gained " the right to be forgotten " when it comes to the searches made by information providers such as Google.

The power of an Internet search engine to minutely search old records makes it easy to dredge up details that are no longer relevant, but which could impose a degree of embarrassment.   Perhaps a messy divorce action.  All manner of traffic infringements from a long time ago.  Details that are not pertinent to the lifestyle that person is living today.  Any computer search could continue to divulge this unnecessary detail endlessly.

Citizens now have the right to have that past detail " forgotten ", but they need to lodge such a quest with the company undertaking such searches.   It would help if we had a statute to safeguard private information such as age and salary earned from public disclosure, without our permission !