A Concise History of Privacy Law

Photo via everystockphoto.

Jill Priluck, frequent contributor to Slate, has written a nice “history” of the law of privacy in the U.S. She nicely eludes to the necessary changes and challenges brought on by digital media and the progress in technology.

No one law or right governs privacy in the United States. The word privacy doesn’t appear in the Constitution, and some skeptics even refer to it as a “so-called” right. But there is a basis for American privacy law, and a good place to start is the fourth item in the Bill of Rights, now known as the Fourth Amendment. “The right of the people,” the Fourth Amendment states, “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.”

Via n+1 journal.

Tags: constitution, fourth amendment, history, media, priluck, privacy, reasonable expectation of priivacy, Roy Olmstead, search and seizure, technology, united states