The Right To Privacy In The United States

As human beings and citizens of the world, everyone values their privacy. It is a right that is often looked over and taken for granted by most. Since the beginning of time, there have been concerns about individuals’ rights to privacy and their personal information remaining confidential. Our founding fathers had concerns about this which is why, “…this right has developed into

Privacy is defined and interpreted differently depending on the person or persons involved. The one thing that is agreed upon is that privacy in all forms is a right and shall receive equal protection for all people under the laws of the constitution. This includes the right to our personal affairs to be let alone, financials, medical records, opinions, privacy of worship, privacy in our homes and intimate interactions. However right to privacy extends far beyond our personal lives and information being left alone and out of the public eye. In the past privacy was not something that was thought of so

Most Americans feel trapped by the government. They believe that the government is spying on them just to do so and that there is absolutely no reason for it. However this is wrong because the government has several reasons to spy on us Americans. Even though this may seem outrageous, it is needed and there are ways the United States’ citizens have privacy. With all of these false accusations it is simple to see why people would be supportive of our right to privacy. On the other hand, the government eavesdropping on the people of the United States has helped save many lives and justice being served. The United States of America is a free country, so we should have the option to be spied on by the government; however, as citizens we do

Privacy is, and should continue to be, a fundamental dimension of living in a free, democratic society. Laws protect “government, credit, communications, education, bank, cable, video, motor vehicle, health, telecommunications, children’s and financial information; generally carve out exceptions for disclosure of personal information; and authorize the use of warrants, subpoenas, and court orders to obtain the information.” (Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists: A Framework for Program Assessment, 2008) This is where a lot of people feel as though they have their privacy violated. Most Americans are law-abiding citizens who do not commit illegal acts against the country, they want to go about their lives, minding their own business and not having to worry about outside interference. The fine line between privacy and National Security may not be so fine in everyone’s mind. While it is the job of government agencies to ensure the overall safety of the country and those living in it, the citizens that obey the law and do not do anything illegal often wonder why they are subject to any kind of search, when they can clearly point out, through documentation, that they have never done anything wrong.

The Fourth Amendment is the right for people to be secure in their homes, papers, and effects against unreasonable search and seizure. The amendment also states that warrants will not be issued unless they are issued under probable cause. This amendment is the biggest factor in the case of Omaha Herald v. Police, however, this case cannot as easily be defined by the Fourth Amendment can be and there are arguments and cases which can be made for both sides.

"Reasonable expectation of privacy" is a legal term based on standards and norms about privacy which are held by a society. In the US, the case "Katz v. United States" was the first time the term "reasonable expectation of privacy" was used. What "...a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection…. But what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected."[10] This decision provided a precedent to be used in future cases to determine what can be considered private, protected information. Further rulings based on this precedent have established that the expectations of a

According to Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut the United States Constitution protects women’s rights to use contraceptives. Our Constitutional heritage and principles contradict the verdict of that case. The general right to privacy that (has been said) is outlined in the Constitution, was used in the Supreme Court case to argue that decisions about a woman’s body is protected. Yet, nowhere in the Constitution does it mention the right to marital privacy. There are many flaws surrounding the verdict of Griswold v. Connecticut; not only constitutionally, but theologically and scientifically.

When there is little privacy caused by the fourth amendment it should be looked at seriously. The 4th amendment allows law enforcement to use collect evidence from phone calls for using in court as evidence. Though they need permission from a judge to go through and use your calls they could use your conversations as evidence, as they can use it to catch terrorist and thieves. The intelligence agency can not only use phone calls, but they can also search your home and even your vehicle, obviously they need a warrant but there are a few cases where they do not need a warrant. An example of a case that they do not need a warrant is when a weapon or evidence that is needed is in plane sight, but anything not in plane sight you must have a warrant.

Privacy is what allows people to feel secure in their surroundings. With privacy, one is allowed to withhold or distribute the information they want by choice, but the ability to have that choice is being violated in today’s society. Benjamin Franklin once said, “He who sacrifices freedom or liberty will eventually have neither.” And that’s the unfortunate truth that is and has occurred in recent years. Privacy, especially in such a fast paced moving world, is extremely vital yet is extremely violated, as recently discovered the NSA has been spying on U.S. citizens for quite a while now; based on the Fourth Amendment, the risk of leaked and distorted individual information, as well as vulnerability to lack of anonymity.

In 1787, the constitution was born. The constitution has been America’s guideline to the American way of life. Our US constitution has many points in it to protect America and it’s people from an overpowered government, our economy, and ourselves. The only thing the constitution doesn’t directly give us, is our right to privacy, and our right to privacy has been a big concern lately courtesy of the National Security Agency (NSA).(#7) Although our constitution doesn’t necessarily cover the privacy topic, it does suggest that privacy is a given right. Some people say that the right to privacy was so obvious, that our founding fathers didn’t even feel the need to make a point about it.(#9) It also didn’t help

While advancements in technology are continuously on the rise, so are the concerns of how they will affect the privacy the fourth amendment protects. The question of how modern technology will violate the natural rights of the people can not only be asked by society, but also by law enforcement officials. Officers would have to distinguish the surveillance techniques that contravene the law of privacy from those that do not. In the case Kyllo v. United States (2001), the police used a thermal scanner to read the heat signatures given off by Kyllo’s house. Their intent was to find abnormal heat patterns, search the home, and therefore confirm their suspicions of marijuana growth. While they were successful in finding illegal activities being

In the case of Katz v. the United States, reasonable expectation of privacy questioned government’s intrusion of one’s privacy by eavesdropping (Hall, 2015). This paved the way for the Fourth Amendment to be dissected when electronic devices are utilized rather than physical means to obtain evidence. It eliminates the snooping of wiretapping by upholding conversation overheard through eavesdropping to be protected under the Fourth Amendment. Consequently, the matter at hand was the misleading issues of the characterization of the telephone booth which Katz placed the call from. The Supreme Court ruled that the Fourth Amendment protected people, not places under the trespass theory but overturned the conviction on grounds that his telephone

Furthermore, the government spying on its citizens is a huge violation of the rights they are granted. Privacy is a person’s right as a human being, however, privacy is also a privilege. If a

How different countries and organizations are approaching privacy issues along with my predictions how it will unfold the future

First of all, it is important to know the definition of privacy, it is the right to control who knows what about you, and under what conditions. The right to share different things with the people that you want and the right to know that your personal email, medical records and bank details are safe and secure. Privacy is essential to human dignity and autonomy in all societies. If someone has committed a physical intrusion, or, in discussing the principal question, has published embarrassing or inaccurate personal material or photographs of the individual taken without consent, he is invading their right of privacy, which is in the article eight of the European Convention on Human Rights.