Data Privacy and Surveillance in the U.S.

Data Privacy

There are no specific laws done by the federal government that explicitly deal with data privacy. Instead, most privacies are derived from a series of amendments and court cases.

General right(s) to privacy

Amendments

Amendments 1, 3, 4 and 9 are all said to give American citizens their right to privacy. In addition, the liberty clause in Amendment 14 also aids in the explanation of Americans’ right to privacy.

Cases

Griswold v. Connecticut allowed for couples to have a right to privacy when choosing to use forms of contraception.

Other laws

HIPPA, the health privacy act protects a patient’s right to privacy.

Data Privacy

States generally have the power to create and enforce data privacy laws. The most strict and notable in the US is the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA). This act requires all business and websites to notify users of the company’s privacy policy and visit tracking. Since it’s so difficult to determine which people are California residents, most companies follow the law to be on the safe side.

Surveillance

The US is notorious for its mass surveillance and techniques used. Below are some of the most influential in current times.

USA PATRIOT Act

The USA PATRIOT Act, or PATRIOT Act, was enacted after 9/11 to broaden and strengthen the government’s ability to use surveillance methods on suspected terrorists. Their methods include wiretapping and investigations into financial records.

PRISM

PRISM is a program the NSA uses to monitor private web data. Through PRISM, the NSA has an agreement with nine popular internet services. The NSA also has an agreement with Verizon, a popular phone company, to receive call information, including duration and location of the call. The NSA has also notified Sprint and AT&T of their desire to enter into a similar agreement. Some news outlets also believe that PRISM is a backdoor into American citizens’ communications.

Stories on PRISM

Five Eyes

The Five Eyes is a coalition of 5 English speaking countries that all collect information and data on their citizens and share that information with each other. This coalition consists of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.