THE DANGERS OF SURVEILLANCE

From the Fourth Amendment to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, and from the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to films like Minority Report and The Lives of Others, our law and culture are full of warnings about state scrutiny of our lives. These warnings are commonplace, but they are r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Harvard law review 2013-05, Vol.126 (7), p.1934-1965
Main Author: Richards, Neil M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amendments
Analysis
Blackmail
Communication
Computer surveillance
Constitutional amendments
CULTURE
Culture and law
ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE
First Amendment
Freedom of speech
Intellectual freedom
Internet
Law and legislation
Laws, regulations and rules
PRIVACY
Privacy rights
Privacy, Right of
Social aspects
State espionage
Surveillance
SYMPOSIUM: PRIVACY AND TECHNOLOGY
Threats
U.S. states
United States. National Security Agency
Wiretapping
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Summary:From the Fourth Amendment to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, and from the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to films like Minority Report and The Lives of Others, our law and culture are full of warnings about state scrutiny of our lives. These warnings are commonplace, but they are rarely very specific. Other than the vague threat of an Orwellian dystopia, as a society we don't really know why surveillance is bad and why we should be wary of it. To the extent that the answer has something to do with "privacy," we lack an understanding of what "privacy" means in this context and why it matters. We've been able to live with this state of affairs largely because the threat of constant surveillance has been relegated to the realms of science fiction and failed totalitarian states.
ISSN:0017-811X
2161-976X