"Invasion of Privacy:
How to Protect Yourself in the Digital Age"
by Michael S. Hyatt

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The Right to Privacy
is not specifically stated within either the Constitution or Bill of Rights. Perhaps this is because, after carefully spelling out protections for the privacy of one's property (3rd, 4th, 5th Amendments) and the right to one's opinions or friends (1st Amendment), the founders felt privacy was implicit. Numerous court rulings say privacy is, indeed, implicit within other enumerated rights. Or perhaps the founders considered personal privacy such an inviolate and obvious right, it didn't require a special mention. Lady Liberty personally believes this latter explanation is the case. Be that as it may...

Privacy as a fundamental right
was fully established in law in the court decision Griswold v. Connecticut. Though the court agreed that privacy is, indeed, an independent right inferred from several provisions of the Bill of Rights (the court referenced previous privacy-related decisions based on protections under the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments), it indicated in the Griswold decision that the legal right to privacy had its source in the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. The court further decreed that privacy is a "fundamental right".

Don't have anything to hide?
Lady Liberty doesn't either. But that doesn't mean she's inclined to install cameras in her house or volunteer to be searched any time soon, nor is she predisposed to waive her civil rights to prove her innocence. No true freedom lover would - or could.

If someone asks you for personal information, ask yourself: Is this person/organization entitled to the data by law? For example, your Social Security number must be given to your employer, the IRS, your bank, to receive public assistance, and your State Department of Motor Vehicles for driver's license and vehicle registration purposes. It is not required on a job application, for insurance coverage, at your doctor's office, or to get a video club membership (yes, a video store clerk once made that attempt with Lady Liberty, a mistake not likely to occur again anytime soon). It can be a hassle, but is well worth the protection it offers to write in the blank for your number on a job application "will provide upon hire"; to demand your insurance company not use your Social Security number as your ID number; and to remind store clerks and their ilk that, by law ("Privacy Act") you are not required to provide the number and that you will take your business elsewhere they keep demanding it.

If the information is necessary, are provisions made for privacy? Demand protection. Put in writing that you do not authorize the release of any of your information.

If it is not necessary for you to release information, don't! This means no supermarket discount cards, no response to Census questions (other than the legally mandated "how many people live here?"), and no cooperation with phone or mall surveys. Don't use electronic toll passes. Refuse to buy a cell phone with GPS unless it has an off/on switch.

Don't release information unrelated to the matter at hand. (Wanting to know if you take any medication is a legitimate question by your doctor; asking if you own a firearm is not.)

Do everything you can to stop your local officials from installing cameras at stoplights or in public venues. Fight face recognition software employment. Get involved in the campaigns to stop any form of National ID Card (see the ACLU's "National ID Cards: 5 Reasons Why They Should Be Rejected").

Shred your bills, credit card and bank statements, tax information, and the like before you throw them away.

For more privacy tips, search Powells.com, see Lady Liberty's book reviews for privacy-related material, and visit the Center for Democracy & Technology privacy pages.

Golden Key Campaign
for Online Privacy

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