“ The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath of affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. ” --Fourth Amendment, U.S. Constitution –-
The U.S. Constitution protects a right to privacy from intrusion by government, most explicitly in the Fourth Amendment . The Supreme Court has interpreted other parts of the Bill of Rights to provide a constitutional right to privacy from government in other areas as well.
WEAKENING THE FOURTH AMENDMENT
• The Fourth Amendment sets limits on the government’s rights to legally search our homes and businesses and seize documents. It requires that the government have “probable cause” for the search and seizure; this is, there must be a good reason for the specific search.
• The trouble now is that so much personal information is not safe in our homes or in the individual offices of our doctors and financial advisors. Because many laws allow law enforcement agencies to get information from nongovernment databases without a court order.
EXAMPLES OF THE WEAKING OF THE FOURTH AMENDMANT
• SATELLITE SURVEILLANCE AND THERMAL IMAGING
Uses various computer technologies to take detailed photographs of the earth, detailed enough to show our homes and backyards.
• AUTOMATED TOLL COLLECTION AND ITEMIZED PURCHASE RECORDS
Sensors read a device in the car as it goes by without stopping, and the owner’s credit card or bank accounts gets billed for the toll.
SUPREME COURT DECISION AND EXPECTAION OF PRIVACY
“Several Supreme Court cases addressed the impact of technology on Fourth Amendment protection earlier context.”
• Olmstead, U.S, 1928, the government has used wiretaps on telephone lines without a court order.
• Katz, U.S, 1967, the Supreme Court reversed its position and ruled that the Fourth Amendment does apply to conversation and that it applies public places In some situations.
MORE SEARCH AND SURVEILLANCE TOOLS
ELECTRONIC BODY SEARCHES
Several airports use an x-ray device that displays on a computer screen the image of a person’s body without clothes. Weapons and packets of drugs hidden under clothing are visible in the image. The U.S Customs Service first used the device to examine travellers it suspected of smuggling drugs.
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS (CCTV – close circuit television)
We are used to security cameras in banks and convenience stores. They deter crimes and help in investigations of crimes.
AMENDMENT ACCORDING TO THE SURVEILLANCE POLICY
“To permit unrestricted video surveillance by agent of the state would seriously diminish the degree of privacy we can reasonably expect to enjoy in a free society. We must always be alert to the fact that modern methods of electronic surveillance have the potential, if uncontrolled, to annihilate privacy.”
-- Supreme Court of Canada, 1990 --
CONSUMER INFORMATION
2.3.1 Database And Marketing
Businesses use powerful hardware and software to analyze consumer data, government records, and any other useful information to determine who might be a new customer. This is an application of a process called “data mining“, the searching of masses of data to find new information or knowledge.
Children On The Web
There are two privacy issues related to it, one of which is linked to safety; in which the child molesters use the Web to find Children. The second issue is the collection of personal information by the many Websites designed for children.
1998 – Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study that 89%of Web sites aimed at children collected personal information, and only 23% of the sites asked children to get parents consent from their parents before providing the information.
• Later that year, Congress passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) ordering the FTC to set up rules for protecting children under age 13. “Verifiable Parental Consent” which mean the site must prominently post their policy telling what information they collect and show and how it is used.
2.3.3 Credit Bureaus
To provide a central storehouse of information for evaluating applicants and for credits. Some employers also use credit bureaus as part of a background check on job applicants.
1996 – Congress amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 (FCRA), setting stronger standards to reduce access to credit records and making access under false pretense a felony.
2001 – Federal judge ruled that the law restricting sale of personally identifiable financial information included the headers on credit reports, and the credit bureaus could no longer sell header information without consumer consent. This ruling was a significant change in privacy protection.
2.3.4 Principles For Data Collection And Use
Informed Consent - the first principle for ethical treatment of personal information.
TWO MOST COMMON CHOICE GIVEN TO THE PEOPLE
OPT OUT Policy – one must check a box on a contract, membership form, or agreement, or call or write to the organization to request removal from distribution list.
OPT IN Policy – personal information is not distributed to other business or organizations unless the consumer has explicitly checked a box or signed a form permitting disclosure.
FIGURE 2.2
Summarizes privacy principles for personal data. Many government statements and laws, recommendations from many privacy organizations, and many business policies include versions of these principles. There is wide variation in interpretation and implementation of the principles.
- Collect only the data needed.
- Inform people when data about them are being collected, what is collected, and how is will be used. (do not use invisible information gathering techniques without informing people.)
- Offer a way for to opt out from mailing lists and from transfer of their data to other parties.
- Provide stronger protection for sensitive data. For example, use an opt-in policy for disclosure of medical data.
- Keep data only as long as needed.
- Maintain accuracy and security of data.
- Provide a way for people to access and correct data stored about them.
