PRIVACY

In the late 1960s, Privacy was an topic which received much attention on both sides of the Atlantic.  Issues of Privacy came to a head in the U.K. when Brian Walden M.P. introduced a Private Members Bill on Privacy into the House of Commons.  Arising out of discussions in the Safeguard Group (link provided below) I had begun to study the topic in some depth so I wrote to my M.P., James Allason, for a ticket to the debate, which took place on 23rd January 1970.  An account of what happened on that day is given elsewhere.

Following the debate, a Committee of Inquiry into Privacy was set up under the Chairmanship of Rt. Hon. Kenneth Younger.  I responded to an invitation to submit evidence by writing a paper examining Privacy from a psychological viewpoint.  Psychology was much in vogue at the time.  For example:-

• Leavitt's Managerial Psychology was a 'bible' in widespread use,

• Clinical Theology, in which Christ was regarded as the psychological norm, had its devotees in the Anglican and other denominations,

• Psychological techniques were being applied in fields such as Sensitivity Training and T-Groups.

My paper to the Younger Committee proposed fundamental concepts of Privacy derived from the impact of psychological practices:-

The Psychological Violation of Privacy

Safeguard Group