In the US Etzioni argues for a reformulation of privacy to ensure that a more appropriate
balance is found with the common good. In the UK it could be argued that the position is
reversed. Privacy has long been a stranger to domestic courts, and the concept of privacy
imported from the European Convention is far from an inalienable right. To extend the
Convention’s interpretation of privacy to the public sphere, or to apply its standards in
regard to the collection of personal data in the public sphere, does not necessarily entail
short-changing the common good. Privacy can be an essential element of a functioning
community. Without privacy people might feel inhibited from forming close relationships
within the family, or outside in social groups. It allows the social spheres to function and
as a result a degree of privacy helps the community to function. Privacy need not displace
the common good and whilst the European Convention can provide a framework for
legislation, it is a matter for Parliament and the courts to determine exactly where the
balance lies.