Lack of Privacy in the United States

863 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on the right to privacy in us

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”― Benjamin Franklin. Despite the fact that these words are three centuries old, they are magnificently related to the present. The world nowadays is going towards constant technological advances and political turmoil. Evolution of technology is considered as the best thing that happened to human kind; however, the lack of privacy comes along, which means the government may take advantage of it by having the people’s records with or without their permissions in the name of protection.
The famous philosopher Aristotle defines privacy as the sphere of one’s home life as opposed to one’s political activities. Every person, regardless of his or her life outside the home, is entitled to privacy (DeCew). Whereas the concept of privacy is considered in many modern cultures as a basic human right, the advent of the Computer network has complicated it.
Privacy, or freedom from interference, has countless implications. The individual would struggle for living if he/she sought for absolute privacy. Although the people have the right to keep their privacy, they tend to forget that it is being vanished by the government. According to the fourth amendment in the U.S. Constitution:
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 or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. (The United States)
The personal privacy has been saved under American law since the 20th century. People can claim their right o...

... middle of paper ...

...ion. These days, privacy is priceless, so hold it before its too late.

Works Cited

Acquisti, Alessandro. " Why privacy matters." TED. JUN. 2013. Lecture.
DeCew, Judith, "Privacy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Aug 9, 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
"President Bush Signs Anti-Terrorism Bill." PBS. PBS, 26 Oct. 2001. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
Solove, Daniel J. "Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have 'Nothing to Hide'." The Chronicle of Higher Education 57.37 (2011). Academic OneFile. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Terms and Conditions May Apply. Dir. Hoback, Cullen. Variance Films. 2013. Film
The United States Bill Of Rights : The Ten Original Amendments To The Constitution Of The United States Passed By Congress September 25, 1789, Ratified December 15, 1791. Champaign, Ill. [P.O. Box 2782, Champaign 61825]: Project Gutenberg, n.d. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 30 Nov. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Why Privacy Matters Even If You Have Nothing To Hide

    496 Words  | 1 Pages

    The word “privacy” has a different meaning in our society than it did in previous times. You can put on Privacy settings on Facebook, twitter, or any social media sights, however, nothing is truly personal and without others being able to view your information. You can get to know a person’s personal life simply by typing in their name in google. In the chronicle review, “Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have ‘Nothing to Hide,'" published on May 15th 2011, Professor Daniel J. Solove argues that the issue of privacy affects more than just individuals hiding a wrong. The nothing-to-hide argument pervades discussions about privacy. Solove starts talking about this argument right away in the article and discusses how the nothing-to-hide

    Read More

  • 4th Amendment Research Paper

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    Privacy comes at a cost. It brings people who fight for the people the privacy of others when it is violated together. Cops not being able to search when they seize a cell phone makes them risk their lives because how people these days are, there could be bombs in the phone. Even though this amendment was ratified, people to this day still don’t have privacy they rightfully deserve. This effects me because I’m able to keep special information to myself. Also, if a police pulls over a family member and ask for their phone to investigate without giving a proper reason or having a warrant, that family member could say no. If a police hasn’t given you a good reason to hand something over, you have the right to resist or else the police are being unconstitutional. This amendment gives people the safety to do what they want(that’s legal). It also makes life better, but harder. Life is harder with this amendment because you have to watch out for who you trust that they won’t do anything to jeopardize your safety. This is relevant because a man in Indiana was tracked down by a GPS. It didn’t violate his 4th Amendment because the police got a warrant to put a tracking device in his mom’s car. This case represents how technology gives advantages and disadvantages. An advantage was that they were able to track him down for a burglary. The disadvantage would be that if they hadn’t gotten a warrant, he could have filed a lawsuit against

    Read More

  • Fourth Amendment

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1787, the Constitution, created by a group of men known as the “Framers”, is the highest law in the United States. At first, the Constitution was not ratify because it did not have a bill of rights which is a list of rights that belong to the people. Therefore to allow changes to the Constitution, the Framers created the amendment process. In 1791, congress proposed twelve changes to the Constitution. Ten of the twelve changes were agreed to by the states and were called “The Bill of Rights.” Some of these rights include the right of free speech, the right to practice your own religion and the right to be silent if you are arrested.

    Read More

  • Invasion Of Privacy Examples

    1884 Words  | 4 Pages

    Privacy is a complex concept with no universal definition as its meaning changes with society. Invasion of privacy occurs when there is an intrusion upon the reasonable expectation to be left alone. There has been a growing debate about the legitimacy of privacy in public

    Read More

  • The Government is Wiretapping You

    1485 Words  | 3 Pages

    Privacy (Pri-va-cy) n.1.the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people. Americans fear that technological progress will destroy the concept of privy. The first known use of wiretap was in 1948. It’s no secret that the government watches individuals on a daily bases. According to the constitution, the Fourth Amendment serves to protect the people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Unreasonable is the word that tips the balance On one side is the intrusion on individuals’ Fourth Amendment rights and the other side is legitimate government interests, such as public safety. What we consider reasonable by law, the government might not think so. The word ‘privacy’ seems to be non-existent today in the 21st century; the use and advances of technology have deprived us of our privacy and given the government the authority to wiretap and or intervene in our lives. Our natural rights we’ve strived for since the foundation of this nation are being slashed down left to right when we let the government do as they wish. The government should not be given the authority to intervene without a reasonable cause and or consent of the individual

    Read More

  • What is Privacy?

    1879 Words  | 4 Pages

    Privacy is an incredibly elusive concept, partly because no one can agree on what constitutes an invasion of privacy. One famous publication in the 1890 edition of the Harvard Law Review defines privacy as “...the right to be let alone” (Warren). While this suffices for a cursory look at the definition of privacy, a closer look reveals that it is still very vague (the latter portion of the journal reiterates this). Specifically, it does not address breach of privacy, a concept that is still disagreed upon today. There are many different interpretations as to what constitutes an invasion of privacy.

    Read More

  • Individual Privacy versus National Security

    1933 Words  | 4 Pages

    The word “privacy” did not grow up with us throughout history, as it was already a cultural concept by our founding fathers. This term was later solidified in the nineteenth century, when the term “privacy” became a legal lexicon as Louis Brandeis (1890), former Supreme Court justice, wrote in a law review article, that, “privacy was the right to be let alone.” As previously mentioned in the introduction, the Supreme Court is the final authority on all issues between Privacy and Security. We started with the concept of our fore fathers that privacy was an agreed upon concept that became written into our legal vernacular. It is being proven that government access to individual information can intimidate the privacy that is at the very center of the association between the government and the population. The moral in...

    Read More

  • The Right to Privacy

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    The right to privacy of an individual is a very important measure, and sometimes the government expresses powers in these cases where it does not have the legal right to do so. One such case where the government peeked its head in where it should not have done so, was in the case of Mapp V. Ohio (IDK). In Mapp Versus Ohio a woman was accused of possessing materials that were considered illegal or obscene, and Mapp got

    Read More

  • The Right to Privacy

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    Privacy is one of the severe issue in today’s Modern Technology era, tied to human right around the world. Most countries have started thinking differently regarding between the people’s right and national security, and trying to leverage on new technology to detect potential national threats without hurting people’s privacy. However, there's a blurred line between privacy violation and government surveillance. (Sánchez, Levin & Del, 2012) It would be a learning process for governments to seek an optimum balance between retain integrity of privacy right and eliminate national threats in order to make the country better.

    Read More

  • Privacy vs. Security

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    Solove, Daniel J. “5 Myths about Privacy” Washington Post: B3. Jun 16 2013. SIRS. Web. 10

    Read More

  • Privacy in the Workplace

    2466 Words  | 5 Pages

    As said by Eric Hughes, "Privacy is the power to selectively reveal oneself to the world. " 2 As written by Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis in 1928, the right most valued by the American people was "the right to be left alone". " 3 Previously it took a lot of equipment to monitor a person's actions, but now with technology's development and advancement all it requires is a computer. And there are many mediums which can be monitored, such as telephones, email, voice mail, and computers.4 People's rights are protected by many laws, but in private businesses there are few laws protecting an individual's rights.

    Read More

  • Cell Phone Tracking

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cell phone privacy has become quite an issue over the past few years now that cell phone use is prevalent among most of the world. There have been many articles and news stories circling around about how the government is tracking every move on our cell phone. This includes the government and other entities recording our conversations. Many people view this as a violation of privacy because their expressed thoughts and feelings are being recorded and listened to by someone somewhere. Another ethical concern that this brings about is the violation of the privacy protections of the fourth amendment. Law enforcements officials have the right to access personal location data without giving probable cause to the judge (ACLU 1). While this can create an unnerving feeling I believe the government has taken these measures to keep the country safe. If the government can prevent...

    Read More

  • Government Surveillance Pros And Cons

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    Privacy is a right granted to all American citizens in the Fourth Amendment which states “people have the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and lives against unreasonable search and seizures”. Although our founding fathers could have never predicted the technological advancements we have achieved today, it would be logical to assume that a person's internet and phone data would be considered their effects. This would then make actions such as secretive government surveillance illegal because the surveillance is done so without probable cause and would be considered unreasonable search or seizure. Therefore, access to a citizen’s private information should only be provided using probable cause with the knowledge and consent of those who are being investigated.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Right To Privacy

    677 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although the right to privacy has been used to sway the outcome of many U.S court cases, including the famous Supreme Court ruling of Roe vs. Wade, there is still some debate over how the “right to privacy” should be viewed. For example both Judith Jarvis Thompson, and James Rachels agree that the right to privacy is indeed a right that is bestowed upon citizens, however their perception of how one is granted this right is quite different.

    Read More

  • Should Celebrities Have Their Right to Privacy?

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    Historical/practical rights are one of the biggest issues and it all started back in colonial America. In colonial America, privacy was constrained. Colonial homes were often crowded, affording little privacy. There have been many events about privacy since 1639. In 1787, the U.S. Constitution was written declaring it does not contain an express right of privacy, in Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3, the Constitution mandates that a census be conducted every ten years. Critics of the census regard it as a threat to privacy (Right of Privacy Time).

    Read More

More about Lack of Privacy in the United States

Open Document