Technology. Privacy. Liberty.
Privacy is often viewed in today’s public as non-existent. “Only those with bad intentions want to conceal.” But privacy is built into every aspect of basic human life. There is no liberty without privacy. For it to be taken so for granted that it is unknowingly violated, without so much as a reaction, shows that we are losing touch with what is at stake.
The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states:
Amendment IV
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.
This is tested daily, and it is only applicable to the government’s invasion of one’s person, house, papers, and effects. Companies, meanwhile, have no such overt restriction on exploiting personal and private information about us, and take it as far as they can get away with.
It is our responsibility to guard our own privacy.