The United States National Institute for Standards in Technology (NIST) defines privacy as: assurance that the confidentiality of, and access to, certain information about an entity is protected; freedom from intrusion into the private life or affairs of an individual when that intrusion results from undue or illegal gathering and use of data about that individual; and, the right of a party to maintain control over and confidentiality of information about itself. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an international document (adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948) that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings - including the right to privacy. The digital age has amplified the importance of privacy to unprecedented heights. We generate immense amounts of personal data and share them across the internet without a second thought. This continuous flow of sensitive information poses major risks of data breaches, identity theft, and several other privacy transgressions. There is an increasing demand for legal frameworks to protect our data and guarantee respect for our individual privacy. Governments around the world are responding to this need with data protection laws, privacy laws, and even the inclusion of user privacy in certain human rights legislation.
