Attentional privacy is the state of being shielded from being the subject of attention, which covers much of what Warren and Brandeis considered under the right to be let alone. O’Hara suggests that one has attentional privacy when: (i) one’s behaviour is not under surveillance, and particularly p. 28not being noted or recorded ready for recall and examination in the future; (ii) one’s appearance is not subject to scrutiny; (iii) one is not questioned, held to account or interrogated; (iv) one’s speech is free from eavesdropping, and by extension, communications are free from interception (communication privacy); (v) one is free from publicity; (vi) one is not the subject of discussion, speculation or gossip (whether true or false) by others. A breach of attentional privacy could be effected by direct perception, or via some technological means allowing asynchronous scrutiny of a photograph, recording or video.
Further reading:
O’Hara, K., 2023. The seven veils of privacy: how our debates about privacy conceal its nature. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
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O’Hara, K., 2023. The seven veils of privacy: how our debates about privacy conceal its nature. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
