Coercing Privacy and Moderate Paternalism: Allen on Unpopular Privacy

My hope is that by challenging two of the central claims of Unpopular Privacy, Professor Allen will be encouraged to expand or further clarify her views. First, I will critique Allen’s definition of privacy as being overly broad. On my view, including forced seclusion or isolation along with rights to control access to and uses of locations and information within the category of “privacy” is a mistake. Similarly, to describe legal protections for keeping doctor and patient confidences as coercing, rather than protecting privacy rights, seems a stretch. Second, I will challenge Allen’s justification for moderate paternalism. Our government may indeed be treating us like children in a variety of ways, but such policies are unjustified and create or sustain the very weaknesses they are supposed to ameliorate.