Who Decides Who Doesn’t Deserve Privacy?

Privacy is a fundamental human right that applies universally, regardless of personal moral judgments about individuals' activities. Using the Ashley Madison breach as a case study, the article examines why certain data breaches should be flagged as sensitive in Have I Been Pwned (HIBP). Email addresses in breaches don't always indicate what they seem—people join services for various reasons, accounts can be created without consent, and public doxing can have life-threatening consequences. Legally defined sensitive personal information includes data revealing racial origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and health data. HIBP flags breaches as sensitive to prevent the service from being weaponized for public shaming, while still forwarding illegal content to law enforcement. The decision protects both individual privacy rights and the service's ability to operate.