"The  whirling sledgehammer arches through the air  and
               smashes into a giant telescreen  that  holds  ranks  of
               passive  people  captivated.  Big  Brother's  monstrous
               face  shatters  into a brilliant shower  of  light  and
               glass.   Then  comes the postscript: On  January  24th,
               l984 Apple  will introduce MacIntosh.  And you will see
               why l984 won't be like l984."  [1]



            Apple's MacIntosh television spot appeared at a time when

          Americans are increasingly concerned about privacy questions.  In

          the past decade, computers have altered the way we store,

          retrieve, collect, and exchange information.  The electronic

          processing of data has become so entrenched in our lives that our

          society has now been labelled a computerized society.  The

          consequences for an individual living in such a world are vast.

          However, ethical and legal safeguards are sadly lacking in their

          responses to the changing human condition.  The information

          revolution has brought with it greater insecurity and increased

          potential for computer misuse.  Is Orwell's l984 looming closer?

          Through an analysis of privacy in the age of computers, it will

          be discerned if an Orwellian world is nearing reality.

          Particular emphasis will be placed on computers and information,

          confidentiality, ethical and legal safeguards, and security


          ----------

          1. Burnham,David "The Computer, the Consumer and Privacy"New York
                                                                   ___ ____
          Times November 12, l984 p.  32
          _____



                                        - 1 -










          measures.



            The technological advances of the past decade has brought

          unprecedented change to the field of information.  Transmission

          of and access to human information is no longer limited by time

          and space.  In this technological society, information is

          produced, disseminated and exchanged in millionths of a second.

          In addition, data can be transmitted instantaneously and

          simultaneously through a telecommunications network.



            The characteristics of computerized data differentiates it from

          other, more traditional ways of disseminating information.

          Computerized data is not communicated orally or through the

          written word.  Electronic information is an intangible entity.

          Data-processing is an electronic language communicated through

          symbols on a magnetic medium, a disk, a tape, a diskette.

          "Information can now be regarded as a product which can be

          measured quantitatively in terms of the time used to processed;

          it can be stored almost indefinitely; it can be rendered in an

          exclusive form, without others being able to make use of it; and

          it can be transmitted to many places simultaneously."  [2]



            The information revolution