Workshop Privacy, Intimacy, and Information & Communication Technology

The concept of privacy is relevant in many areas of daily life. Although it is commonly assumed that privacy is morally valuable and privacy violations such as data spills are often met with public outrage, it remains unclear both what exactly the normative grounds of a presumed right to privacy are, and how far such a right extends. The concept of privacy is also challenged by rapid technological changes in the digital sphere which make it increasingly difficult to protect data. Moreover, the issue of privacy is often tackled in a piecemeal fashion in particular areas without establishing connections to other fields, which leads to difficulties in maintaining overall coherence in how we view privacy.

The planned workshop for young academics will elucidate the concept of privacy and assess its moral value and legal implications. The workshop will also focus on privacy-related ethical challenges in various areas of our daily life, such as privacy in the digital environment (e-commerce, e-health, social networks), and privacy in the context of personal and intimate relationships and the family. We seek to connect insights from different applied fields in which privacy issues arise in order to work towards a more coherent understanding of privacy.

The workshop will bring together young researchers in ethics and political philosophy from the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria to discuss their ongoing research on the ethics of privacy. It will facilitate an in-depth exchange on cutting edge academic research in this area.

For more details please check the program.