According to the privacy discussion inspired by Marmor, if aliens monitor you constantly from afar without any chance of interaction or consent, do they violate your right to privacy?

According to the privacy discussion inspired by Marmor, if aliens monitor you constantly from afar without any chance of interaction or consent, do they violate your right to privacy?

• A. It would violate your right to privacy.
• B. It would not violate your right to privacy.
• C. It would depend on whether you can communicate with them.
• D. It would violate privacy only if they observe your thoughts.

Answer: (B)

Under this privacy perspective, the right to privacy centers on control over information and the ability of others to influence or harm you through how they use that information. If aliens are watching you constantly from afar but never interact, never press you to act, and cannot affect your life in any way based on what they observe, there’s no mechanism by which your autonomy or personal information can be meaningfully exploited. The situation is passive: observation does not translate into interference or coercion, and there’s no consent or opportunity for you to negotiate or resist. Therefore, the scenario does not count as a privacy violation in this framework. It would only become a violation if the observers could act on the information to influence you, or if you could meaningfully constrain or control access to that information.

Under this privacy perspective, the right to privacy centers on control over information and the ability of others to influence or harm you through how they use that information. If aliens are watching you constantly from afar but never interact, never press you to act, and cannot affect your life in any way based on what they observe, there’s no mechanism by which your autonomy or personal information can be meaningfully exploited. The situation is passive: observation does not translate into interference or coercion, and there’s no consent or opportunity for you to negotiate or resist. Therefore, the scenario does not count as a privacy violation in this framework. It would only become a violation if the observers could act on the information to influence you, or if you could meaningfully constrain or control access to that information.