[Opinion] How Private Is Private?

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If you and I meet on the street and have a conversation is it private? Are we recording each other out of self-defense?

Is anything really private anymore? Is there even a legitimate legal expectation of privacy?

We open our lives on Facebook and Twitter. We divulge our most intimate thoughts by cell phone or text.

Do politicians really believe that half nude selfies of themselves that they send to some girlfriend are not going to be shared around the globe?

There’s a good chance that every stupid text or photo you ever post will be stapled to every job application you ever fill out.

Patriot Act

Invading your privacy is patriotic? It has been since the Patriot Act passed on October 26, 2001.

What books you read.

What bomb making sites you visit or what keywords you use in a text or phone conversation may result in black ops helicopters circling above your home.

Is your internet provider knowing what sites you visit a violation of the 4th Amendment?

Apple opening your iPhone?

Even library books you check out might eventually be privy to some low level staffer ensconced in a basement cubical of some nondescript government gulag.

4^th Amendment

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution says:

“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.”

Is your cable box that tracks what programs you watch and for how long a violation of the 4^th amendment?

Is your electrical or water usage OK for the ATF to monitor to see if you’re a marijuana connoisseur?