Fourth Amendment, U.S. Constitution – Search and Seizure
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 assault on our Fourth Amendment rights by the federal government continues. Oversight of domestic spying by FISA is being gutted, the large telcos are jockeying for legal protection from customers, and now, Big Brother is in your pocket – even if you never make a call.
The new Protect America Act as described by various officials including the President and former Attorney General “permits the collection of foreign-to-foreign calls and doesn’t implicate Americans.”
What they don’t emphasize is that the law also allows the government to collect foreign to domestic calls and domestic to domestic calls – any communications that are “directed at” or even “concerning” someone overseas may be collected, even when one party to the communication is an American. How can they help but sweep up American calls and emails? (The ACLU FISA fact sheet is here.)
Meanwhile, a federal court in Massachusetts has ruled that an individual's past movements were not protected under the Fourth Amendment. The government doesn't need probable cause to obtain a warrant allowing it to use a person's cell phone to track his past movements.
Jennifer Granick of the Electronic Frontier Foundation reflects, "The idea is that the government is using this information, that most people don't know their cell phone transmits, in order to track you, and they are arguing for an extremely low standard under this complicated statutory regime," Granick said. "Most people probably consider this information to be very private -- where you travel and where you've been."
Not anymore…
And your poor cell phone company and Internet Service Provider – they are breaking the law, breaking their contract with customers and violating your privacy. Will they stand up for the rights of their customers? Of course not. Their lobbyists are descending on Washington to demand amnesty from all future liabilities, as well as al legal liability for past complicity in spying on ordinary Americans.
Aziz Haq of the Nation puts it well.
Granting amnesty to telecoms would signal Congressional acquiescence in an illegal course of conduct. It would send a loud message to other businesses and individuals: Don't worry if the executive branch comes to you secretly and demands that you violate the law or impinge on basic liberties. We'll bail you out. And it would stymie lawsuits that not only serve accountability, but also provide paths to illuminate what harm has been done to our rights.
What do you think?
Is the Fourth Amendment’s “probable cause” just another quaint concept?
Is it worth throwing out the Fourth Amendment to feel secure in the 21st Century?
Is Rights Boy just paranoid in his old age?
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