Privacy is an individual’s right to make personal decisions and conduct their lives without public scrutiny. The right to privacy is protected by the Constitution and inferred in the language of the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
Digital privacy concerns the rights of individuals to decide how their digital information (personally identifiable information) is collected and used. Everything you do on the internet creates data.
There are tools you can add to your web browsers to make them more secure and habits you can engage in to make an impact. This guide covers some of these tools and habits.
Why Privacy Matters by "VII. All people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries should advocate for, educate about, and protect people’s privacy, safeguarding all library use data, including personally identifiable information."
The American Library Association asserts, "A lack of privacy in what one reads and views in the library can have a significant chilling effect upon library users’ willingness to exercise their First Amendment right to read, thereby impairing free access to ideas."
Because the vendors that libraries subscribe to aren't beholden to the ALA's Library Bill of Rights, the companies who run the databases that libraries subscribe decide how to handle user data that is created when users interact with their services.
