Respecting Context to Protect Privacy: Why Meaning Matters

Area of Science:

• Information privacy law
• Data protection
• Digital ethics

Background:

• The "Respect for Context" principle in the Obama White House's Privacy Bill of Rights (2012) aims to govern data collection, use, and disclosure.
• Existing interpretations of this principle face challenges in addressing diverse stakeholder interests and regulatory concerns.
• Current data protection frameworks are often found problematic by regulators globally.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze proposed interpretations of the "Respect for Context" principle.
• To demonstrate the limitations of current approaches in advancing data privacy.
• To advocate for contextual integrity as a superior framework for information privacy.

Main Methods:

• Critical analysis of proposed interpretations of "Respect for Context."
• Review of existing data privacy regulations and their shortcomings.
• Theoretical exposition of contextual integrity principles.

Main Results:

• Three analyzed interpretations of "Respect for Context" offer minimal improvement over the status quo.
• Existing approaches to data privacy are insufficient to address contemporary challenges.
• Contextual integrity provides a robust normative rationale for privacy protection.

Conclusions:

• The "Respect for Context" principle, as currently interpreted, is inadequate for effective privacy protection.
• Contextual integrity offers a more promising theoretical foundation for data privacy law and policy.
• Further development of contextual integrity is crucial for navigating information-mediated relationships and activities.