БАЗОВЫЕ ЦЕННОСТИ
АМЕРИКАНСКОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ

THE BASIC VALUES
IN AMERICAN CULTURE:
Privacy

Учебное пособие

Под общей редакцией О.В. Александровой

Москва
Издательство «ФЛИНТА»
2013

УДК 7.01/811.111'42(075.8)
ББК 71.0+81.2Англ-5-923
 
Б17

Под  об ще й ред а к цие й:
д-ра филол. наук, проф. кафедры английского языкознания филологического 
факультета МГУ им. М.В. Ломоносова О.В. Александровой
Кол ле ктив а вто ро в:
д-р филол. наук, проф. кафедры английского языка и методики преподавания
факультета романо-германской филологии НИУ «БелГУ» О.Н. Прохорова;
д-р филол. наук, проф. кафедры теории преподавания иностранных языков 
факультета иностранных языков и регионоведения 
МГУ им. М.В. Ломоносова О.Д. Вишнякова;
д-р филол. наук, проф. кафедры английского языка и методики преподавания
факультета романо-германской филологии НИУ «БелГУ» И.В. Чекулай;
канд. филол. наук, доцент кафедры теории и практики перевода факультета 
романо-германской филологии НИУ «БелГУ» Е.В. Пупынина; канд. филол. 
наук, доцент кафедры английского языка и методики преподавания 
факультета романо-германской филологии НИУ «БелГУ» И.А. Куприева
Ре це нз е нт:
д-р филол. наук, проф. кафедры французского языка факультета романо-
германской филологии НИУ «БелГУ» Ж. Багана

Б17    Базовые ценности американской культуры. The Basic Values in Ame-
 rican Culture: Privacy [Электронный ресурс]: учеб. пособие / О.Н. Прохо-
рова, О.Д. Вишнякова, И.В. Чекулай, Е.В. Пупынина, И.А. Куприева ; под 
общ. ред. О.В. Александровой. — 2-е изд., стер. — М. : ФЛИНТА, 2013. — 
112 с.
ISBN 978-5-9765-1471-3 
Настоящее пособие посвящено изучению культурологического кон-цеп-
та «Privacy» на материале аутентичных текстов, взятых в Интернете. Для 
удобства ознакомления с содержанием пособие разделено на несколько 
частей, отражающих актуализацию заявленного концепта в различных 
сферах жизни социума.
Студентам языковых вузов, бакалаврам, магистрам, аспирантам, а 
также всем желающим изучать американскую лингвокультуру.
УДК 7.01/811.111'42(075.8)
ББК 71.0+81.2Англ-5-923

ISBN 978-5-9765-1471-3                  © Коллектив авторов, 2013
 
 
 
© Издательство «ФЛИНТА», 2013

CONTENTS

UNIT 1 
INTRODUCTION: DEFINING PRIVACY  ......................................................5

UNIT 2
LEARNING ABOUT PRIVACY IN DIFFERENT SPHERES OF LIFE  ............15
 
2.1. Privacy at workplace  .................................................................15
 
2.2. Privacy on the Intermet  ..............................................................24
 
2.2.1. Privacy on social network  .................................................32
 
2.3. Identify theft  .............................................................................43
 
2.4. Privacy through personal distance  .............................................57
 
2.5. Privacy in business  ....................................................................65
 
2.5.1. Privacy measures  .............................................................65
 
2.5.2. Privacy policy  ...................................................................74
 
2.6. Privacy and modern technologies  ...............................................80

UNIT 3
DISCUSSING PRIVACY  .........................................................................90
 
3.1. Privacy versus social interests  ...................................................90
 
3.2. Privacy and publicity  ..................................................................95

BIBLIOGRAPHY  ..................................................................................101

APPENDIX
 
Using the Intermet for further research  ..........................................107

“A book is the only place in which you can examine a 
fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive 
idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of 
the few hevens remaining where a man's mind can get 
both provocation and privacy” (Edward P. Morgan).
(From Quotations about books and reading)

What is privacy? What is its gist? Where are the limits of it? So many 
questions occur to every person trying to study the American English 
language and to understand the true mentality of the nation.
As it is widely known, every American sets an extremely high value on 
his or her privacy, both physical and moral. And this very privacy and the 
protection of personal identifying information are of concern to everyone in 
the USA. Citizens are addressed by the authors of innumerable articles and 
conferences to stop the loss of privacy, either through the sale of consumer 
databases or their own inattention. So, in this concern social opinions differ 
and may vary from “WE HAVE NO PRIVACY AT ALL AND WE SHALL 
GET OVER IT” to “CIVIL LIBERTIES KNOWN TO EVERYONE NO 
MORE EXIST”.
In such powerful national stream people are specially taught to safely 
maneuver on the Internet and minimize their exposure to bogus sites set up 
to steal their identity. Users are warned about the dangers of phishing and 
posting personal information on social network sites, special firewalls are 
used to protect American databases. Moreover, no other computer, except 
with American IP, can browse an American site.
But what exactly constitutes the danger? What are the data custodians 
doing with the information in their possession?
People live under the constant pressure to be seen, heard, touched. Where 
is the reason for it? Does it have any impact on other European civilizations? 
What will all this lead to? Exploring these topics is the raison d'être of this 
book, written by the university teaching staff. The book shows the specific 
features of privacy in different spheres of live: business, internet, workplace, 
medical institutions. The texts presented here are taken from reliable Internet 
resources and are aimed to write a story straight to the addressee. The book 
also provides different kinds of exercises which are supposed to improve 
students language skills in writing, reading, comprehension and oral speech. 
It is also supplied with additional material, namely I-net resources, privacy 
lyrics which are aimed to give extra information and amuse the reader.
We will be really happy if you like the book and continue studying the 
basic American values with us.
Authors

Unit 1

INTRODUCTION: DEFINING PRIVACY

I. READING

1. What is your understanding of the value of privacy? Look through 
the following words and expressions. Check the words, which express 
the idea of privacy.

*List the words and expressions that express the idea of privacy.

_______Family 
 _______Legal right
_______Protection 
_______Confidentiality
_______Moral right 
_______Political activity
_______Anonymity 
_______Facts about an individual
_______Domestic life 
_______Secrecy
_______Personal information 
_______Solitude
_______Social control 
_______Power to make one’s own choice
_______Personhood 
_______One’s lifestyle

2. Think of some examples from your own personal experience to il­
lu strate your current views on what privacy means. You might recall 
the situations when you felt uncomfortable because someone intruded 
into your private affairs or when you felt embarrassed because of the 
questions asked or when you felt hurt because some information about 
you was revealed and the like. Use these experiences to explain your 
point of view. Work in groups, then present the results of your discussion 
to the whole class.

3. Identify different social groups and spheres for which the value of 
privacy may be relevant. Share your ideas with the classmate. Read the 
text below to check your ideas. Sum up the core information of the text 
in the following table:

Social group 
sphere
Those required 
to abide by the 
rules

What is 
protected
Rights
Obligations

1
2
3
4
5

The Concept of Privacy

Americans enjoy their privacy and are fond of spending time 
alone. And it is quite understandable that foreign visitors will find 
American homes and offices open, and at the same time will never 
know what is inside American mind, as it is considered to be a private 
matter. So to say, asking a question “What do you think?” may be 
treated by some as a bit intrusive.
In spite of the fact that the term “privacy” is frequently used, it 
hasn’t acquired any unique definition. “Early treatises on privacy 
appeared with the development of privacy protection in American law 
from the 1890 onward, and privacy protection was justified largely 
on moral grounds. In these discussions some treat privacy as an 
interest with moral value, while others refer to it as a moral or legal 
right that ought to be protected by society or the law” (The Stanford 
Encyclopedia of Philosophy). The privacy principle is understood as 
protection of one's home as one's castle and can be illustrated by four 
“rather definite” privacy rights. They are:

 
1. “Intrusion upon a person's seclusion or solitude, or into his 
private affairs.
 
2. Public disclosure of embarrassing private facts about an indi-
vidual.

3. Publicity placing one in a false light in the public eye.
 
4. Appropriation of one's likeness for the advantage of another” 
(The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Prosser 1969).

So, the concept of privacy “has come to be known as control over 
information about oneself.” And accordingly, privacy can be defined 
as “the condition of not having undocumented personal information 
known or possessed by others”. The said personal information includes 
facts that most persons choose not to reveal about themselves, such 
as facts about health, salary, weight, etc. (The Stanford Encyclopedia 
of Philosophy).
“Privacy can be gained in three independent but interrelated ways: 
through secrecy, when no one has information about one, through 
anonymity, when no one pays attention to one, and through solitude, 
when no one has physical access to one. ... Privacy is required by 
the liberal ideals of personhood, and the participation of citizens as 
equals” (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

“Privacy provides protection against overreaching social control 
by others through their access to information or their control over 
decision making”. (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Schoe­
man, 1992) Privacy is best understood as “covering interests in i) 
control over information about oneself, ii) control over access to 
oneself, both physical and mental, and iii) control over one's ability 
to make important decisions about family and lifestyle in order to be 
self expressive and to develop varied relationships”. (The Stanford 
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, DeCew, 1997) These three interests are 
related because in each of the three contexts threats of information 
leaks, threats of control over bodies, and threats to “American 
people’s power to make their own choices about their lifestyles and 
activities all make them vulnerable and fearful that they are being 
scrutinized, pressured or taken advantage of by others”. (The Stanford 
Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

The concept of privacy is the whole cluster associated not only 
with the private data of grown-ups, but with the family and children’s 
life as well. So, “The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act 
(“COPPA”) specifically protects the privacy of children under the age 
of 13 by requesting parental consent for the collection or use of any 
personal information of the users. The Act took effect in April 2000. 
The Act was passed in response to a growing awareness of Internet 
marketing techniques that targeted children and collected their personal 
information from websites without any parental notification. The Act 
applies to commercial websites and online services that are directed 
at children” (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). 
Moreover, “Congres's intent in passing the Act was to increase parental 
involvement in children's online activities, ensure children's safety 
during their participation in online activities, and most importantly, 
protect children's personal information” (Children's Online Privacy 
Protection Act (COPPA)).

There are also substantial federal and state protections for the 
privacy of students' educational records. “The most prominent of the 
federal protections for student privacy is the Family Educational Rights 
and Privacy Act (FERPA), also known as the “Buckley Amendment”, 
FERPA protects the confidentiality of student records to some extent, 
while also giving students the right to review their own records.” 
This very document “applies to any public or private elementary, 
secondary, or post-secondary school and any state or local education 
agency that receives federal funds. All public schools and virtually all 
private schools are covered by FERPA because they receive some sort 
of federal funding” (Student Privacy).

The Act gives students “the right to inspect and review their own 
education records, request corrections, halt the release of personally 
identifiable information, and obtain a copy of their institution's policy 
concerning access to educational record”, on the one hand, and “it 
prohibits educational institutions from disclosing “personally identifi-

able information in education records” without the written consent of 
the student, or if the student is a minor, the student's parents”, оn the 
other hand (Student Privacy).

The Concept of privacy also concerns financial matters. In other 
words, Americans receive privacy notices from banks and other 
financial companies. These notices explain how the company handles 
and shares your personal financial information (Privacy Choices).
This means that “companies involved in financial activities must send 
their customers privacy notices, including:

 
l 
Banks, savings and loans, and credit unions
 
l 
Insurance companies
 
l 
Securities and commodities brokerage firms
 
l 
Retailers that directly issue their own credit cards (such as 
department stores or gas stations)
 
l 
Mortgage brokers
 
l 
Automobile dealerships that extend or arrange financing or 
leasing
 
l 
Check cashers and payday lenders
 
l 
Financial advisors and credit counseling services
 
l 
Sellers of money orders or travelers checks” (Privacy 
Choices).

This financial information is shared for many reasons, including 
different services offers, new products advertisements, etc. And this 
processes are regulated by federal privacy laws, which give Americans 
the right to stop some sharing of their personal financial information. 
These laws balance one’s right to privacy with financial companies’ 
need to provide information for normal business purposes (Privacy 
Choices).

Another important matter is the federal medical privacy rule will 
protect the confidentiality of individuals' medical records. The rule 

applies to health care providers, health care clearing-houses, and 
health insurers and gives individual privacy rights to the citizens who 
can:
(1) get copies of their medical records and ask for amendments 
to them;
(2) be informed generally about uses and disclosures of their 
health information;
(3) obtain an accounting of disclosures for purposes other than 
treatment, payment, or health care operations;
(4) file complaints of privacy abuses (Medical Record Privacy).

But, in spite of the fact that privacy matters are protected on 
the fede ral level, common American citizens keep worrying about 
the pro blem and try to hide vulnerable information. Thus, today’s 
American society is balancing on the edge of progress, which helps 
to share and transmit information of any kind, and personal data 
pro tection.

GLOSSARY

Intrusion — вторжение, 
навязывание себя

Seclusion — уединение
Private affairs — личные дела

Anonymity —
анонимность

Access to information — доступ к
информации

Information 
leaks — утечка 
информации

Online activities —
работа в режиме он-
лайн

Release —
обнародов
ание

Personally identifiable information —
устанавливающая личность 
информация, личные данные

Institution’s policy —
политика учреждения

Share one’s personal 
information —
сообщать личные
данные

Privacy notice — уведомление о 
состоянии дел

4. After studying the information in the text, discuss alternative ways of 
understanding the value of privacy. Use the chart below.

обнародова-
ние

Privacy

Equality

Intimacy

Social relationship

Restricted access

Individual integrity

Constitutional right

Decision making

Personal independence

Control over
information

Human dignity

5. Think of other ways of explaining the value of privacy. Use the map 
below.

PRIVACY