Tag Archives: privacy

The Blogosphere Privacy Bill of Rights

Ali JawinJune 17, 2009 //

I am always a bit wary of writing about my personal life on the blogosphere. That being said, this is The Frisky and we are all about honesty and openness. Last Friday I took my first crack at publicly exploring a private issue. Not to air my dirty laundry to the world again, but I wrote about a problem I was having with my boyfriend. I was conflicted on many levels, not the least of which was wondering if it was even OK to write about him in the first place. In the end I decided to write the post. I had a lot of legitimate reasons for doing so, but I was also really really furious and didn’t care if he read it or not. Inevitably, he found out. He wasn’t upset with me, but the incident did get me thinking…. Traditional journalists have to protect their sources, but the blogosphere lacks a set of guidelines about what we can and cannot reveal about other people.This is why I feel the need to create The Blogosphere Privacy Bill of Rights. We need this, if only so we don’t scare away all our friends and family. Keep reading »

TSA Porn Or Security Measure?

Annika HarrisMay 21, 2009 //

After 9/11, airports became a place where every traveler is a terror suspect. In an effort to combat terror threats, some airports have turned into virtual high-tech strip joints. You might not have realized it, but the Transportation Security Administration has been testing 40 “whole-body imaging” machines at 19 airports. Critics say the machines, which cost a whopping $170,000, perform a “virtual strip search” and produce “naked” pictures of travelers. Now, protestors have started a national campaign to suspend use of the technology until privacy safeguards are set. “We don’t have the policy to hold [the TSA] to what they say. They’re writing their own rule book at this point,” said Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Keep reading »

Thoughts From Guys On Our IM: Would You Ever Violate Her Privacy?

Amelia McDonell-ParryMay 6, 2009 //

The other night, when I was having dinner with a guy friend who told me my engagement history might scare off some guys, we also discussed the issue of privacy in a relationship and how big of a deal it can be when that privacy is violated. He maintains that checking your partner’s email, cell phone call log, and text messages is totally wrong, whereas I think it’s wrong, but not pathological or evil. Frankly, I know many women who do the occasional cell phone check or email glance (and a few women who do oh-so-much more), but what about guys? Do they ever pilfer through their girlfriends’ inboxes and Facebook accounts? I went to four taken guys on IM to find out. Keep reading »

Can I Get Some Privacy Please Facebook?!

Persia AliJanuary 9, 2009 //

Every time I go to check my email, this feeling of fear passes over me. Not because I’m worried about getting an email from my boss, or a Dear John type letter from a guy who’s just not that in to me. But because Facebook is going to send me a message that says “One of your friends tagged you in a photo.” WHAT! Why are my friends tagging me in photos for all of my other Facebook friends to see? Have I approved these photos to get posted? What am I doing in the photo – am I drunk? The big question is, how do I look in the photo? If we are going to remain Facebook friends, you cannot tag me in a pic where I look like I could go outside and frighten small children. That’s like an unwritten rule. But how did my social gatherings with friends and personal details of my life now become a public viewing spectacle and a topic of thread discussions on the Internet.
It brings up the point, can you have any privacy with a Facebook account? Can any part of your life remain to yourself? It was designed to be this wonderful tool for staying in touch with people in your past and present, but come on let’s be real. Facebook puts our lives on full display for everyone to read, gawk at and talk crap about. Privacy no longer exists if you have a Facebook account. Keep reading »

Pregnant In Public: Where Did You Pee On A Stick?

Diane ShipleyAugust 27, 2008 //

When Sally was seven weeks pregnant, her doctor said he was 99% sure she’d had a miscarriage. But she didn’t want to believe him. So in the restroom of a restaurant in San Francisco, she peed on a stick (or seven) and against all her expectations, got two blue lines.

Meanwhile, my friend Cat was so eager to find out whether she was with child that she dashed into the local Burger King toilet to take a test, despite being a vegetarian.

And Linda took her test in a supermarket restroom on the way to a Weight Watchers meeting… which she never got around to going to.

I used to think that pregnancy was a pretty private thing – at least until the belly starts to pop and strangers want to rub it. My mom and other women of her generation all went to their gynecologist or the privacy of their own bathrooms if they wanted to know if they were knocked up or not. Keep reading »

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