Privacy
Chapter 5: Information Privacy
Some aspects of Black Panther can be related to information privacy. Firstly, Wakanda hides itself from the outside world. This in itself is a form of information privacy, with Wakanda deciding to keep its technology in its own hands for the right purposes. This is a very prominent concept of the entire movie, which actually causes Wakanda to be a very important factor in Infinity War. The fact that this highly advanced technology was hidden from society for years was not only a reason that Wakanda itself thrived, but it prevented other Marvel villains in the universe from creating weapons using vibranium.
This stems from the concept of harms and benefits that come with keeping information private. It is Wakanda’s right to be able to have privacy from the outside world. The benefits of keeping this tech secret include the proper use of vibranium and kinetic technology for structures, barriers, transportation, and medical practices for the right purposes. As mentioned before, we have seen vibranium be developed for weapon usage, so the assumption that leaking this technology to the public could have some unwanted consequences. But, that does not mean that information privacy does not cause harm in some way. Wakanda could have helped society years ago with their advanced medical abilities and force fields that could protect many buildings. One specific instance in the Marvel universe where Wakanda’s potential could have been used was during both The Avengers (first movie) and The Avengers 2 (Age of Ultron) where half of New York and Sokovia were destroyed along with many deaths and injuries. Even though it is Wakanda’s natural right to keep their information private, they could have made a humanitarian effort to save as many lives as possible.
Chapter 6: Privacy and the Government
The movie starts off with a the scene of the King finding out that his brother, N'Jobu, had been selling Vibranium to those in the United States. Upon finding this out, N’Jobu is killed because he betrayed the government of Wakanda. There are two ways which privacy is playing a role in this situation.
1. N’Jobu moved to the states, but was still being tracked. No one knows if it was for his safety and they stumbled upon an illegal situation and thus watched over him more or if everyone that comes from Wakanda is watched. Either way, the government is watching you at all times and N’Jobu did not know, meaning that others do not know either. As of right now, we still do not know if the government was tracking for selfish reasons or to protect its overseas citizens, but either way people are being watched without knowing and that is an invasion of privacy.
2. N’Jobu also violated the government of Wakanda’s privacy by illegally sharing Vibranium with those in the United States. From N'Jobu’s perspective, he was able to see what the world outside Wakanda was like and noticed how Vibranium could make certain process more efficient and more effective. But from the government’s point of view, the primary reason for not sharing the Vibranium, was to not only protect citizens of Wakanda, but also the world from having another item that could lead to mass destruction if a war was to break out again.
What’s funny is that the entire movie is based off of how Vibranium can be used to enhance everyone’s lives. While most of the government wants to keep it a secret for the sake of everyone around them, others that have ventured out of Wakanda want to use Vibranium to help those in need. Luckily they find a happy medium where the government helps those outside of Wakanda with Vibranium, while not exposing how the technology works.