Abstract

Someone possesses privacy to the extent that she has control over certain aspects of her life. What is the content of privacy? Does privacy regulate information about ourselves, access to ourselves, or does it focus on intimate decisions about our actions? Philosophers such as James Rachels, Ruth Gavison, and the Supreme Court all disagree about the scope of privacy. I suggest that the various areas protected by privacy are linked by the common denominator of intimacy – privacy's content covers intimate information, access, and decisions.