Pirvacy a Lost Art

On Monday, we discussed privacy and how the technology affects our Fourth Amendment rights. The Fourth Amendment states:
“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.”
A big conflict in society a few years ago was the Patriot Act I and II. The Patriot Act gave the government the privilege to tap phone conversations, search emails, and place any person in the US under surveillance without a warrant. In the early 2000’s it was a huge deal and was debated heavily. However, now it isn’t brought up in news or political press. The Patriot Act is still in effect, but the greater majority of the US has just accepted the fact that they are being listened in on.

We read a paper by Gary Marx called “Privacy and technology”. It was very interesting to read about what Marx said about the importance of privacy. He listed ten reasons; the one that caught my eye was number 9 “Privacy can help provide the solitude and peace necessary to mental health and creativity in a dynamic society. Here, it is a question of control over what is taken in, rather than what is given out”. I found the statement to be true in my own life. I have felt anxiety when I find out that a large majority of information is online. I Googled my full name and luckily there was no results found. But it worried me that this technology is being used by employers to gather information about employee candidates.

We also discussed how the expectation for privacy has declined from generation to generation. What level of privacy does the current college student expect? I believe that society as a whole has given up privacy for convenience and security. But in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “When you give up liberty for security, you lose both” (paraphrased). I translate that, when you give up something like privacy or liberty for security or convenience you end up losing both. How far will society give up privacy and liberty, before they give up too much? Will society divide even more by the level of privacy expected in our daily lives?