It is no revelation to suggest that computers, and the Internet in particular, have dramatically changed the landscape of human communications. However, the implications of this new "pano-tech" access route to home, office, and travel computer are speculative to be sure. Venues that have historically been sacrosanct including our homes and elementary schools are now accessible. Personal information that only the IRS and physicians could access may now be available to banks, insurance companies, and a variety of others.

The elixir of technology and improved productivity often serves as a catalyst for innovation but rarely are these initiatives accompanied by a companion cost/benefit analysis that assesses the "human" cost, the privacy expenditure, and even the civil rights implications of surging forward. Tempering the use and availability of electronic data sources may not be a possible or even a desirable objective. But spawning critical thinking on the legal implications of unfettered access to data, the sale of personal information, and the feasibility of rules of navigation and usage is and should be the obligation of human rights advocates.

True progress is measured, at least in part, in terms of quality of life for the largest number of people. As we together assess the potential for progress that computer communications offer, it is imperative to be mindful of the entire range of consequences: Are we prepared to live in a computer-dependent society where every electronic keystroke, every online move, can be (and is) watched and analyzed by strangers? What are the costs—financial and otherwise—associated with the loss of privacy in our medical, genetic, credit, and other personal histories? How can we protect our children’s privacy from pervasive and alluring interactive marketing techniques? Have hard-fought Freedom of Information laws—designed to keep citizens informed about what government is up to—inadvertently become privacy threats to the citizens themselves? Should Congress do more to protect privacy in "cyberspace?"

These questions and others are raised by the authors of articles in this issue of Human Rights. These articles clearly are not intended to be an exhaustive exploration of the gamut of issues related to privacy in the age of computers, but rather a sampling of repercussions that hopefully will ignite analytical reflection.

—R. Hayes Johnson, Jr. and Harlan Loeb

Issue Editors