Computers, Privacy & the Constitution

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ChristineOttoJournal 4 - 14 Apr 2020 - Main.ChristineOtto
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ChristineOtto's Journal

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>		March 25 class:
 Course-related work:
  • read news articles on the Radar ("As Coronavirus Surveillance Escalates, Personal Privacy Plummets" and "House Passes Bill Preserving F.B.I. Surveillance Powers")
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>		April 1 class:
 At the moment it seems to be difficult not to talk about the corono virus. It largely influences our days - whether through lockdowns imposed in most coutries, online classes at for students, etc. It is dominating people's thoughts and interactions. However, on top of that an associated thought that is now constantly present for is the issue of privacy concerns amplified by the current situation. Despite having to socially isolate (which would usually mean more privacy) privacy is decreasing as we are to a large degree reliant on technology to keep in contact with friends, family and colleagues. And as can be seen by the news reporting on Zoom our privacy is not guaranteed by such tools. For most classes students are expected to attend classes over Zoom and the universtiy and most professors have not adequately addressed privacy concerns. As you have pointedly said Zoom depicts an astaunding assault upon educational privacy and freedom of thought. It is incomprehensible to me why the university chose to spend so much money on an insecure tool when there are more secure and free tools suchs as Jitsi. This morning I've heard in the news that Austria is considering to use a voluntary tracking app. The idea behind making the app voluntary is clear and seems at the first thought to be sensible. Nevertheless, something irritated me even about a voluntary tracking app. I fear that you don't have to make the app obligatory to pressure and shame people into installing it ("for the greater good"). In general, I am currently tackling the challenge of trying to be less easily surveilled and to protect my privacy while also continuing to do my work for university and not becoming a recluse.

Looking at the 6th Amendment in the 21th century an important question is whether the Constitution should be adjusted to reflect today's technological capabilities. As you have said the Bill of Rights is insufficient for future society which is to be expected as it was written in the 18th century. It should reflect and protect the citizen from the information asymmetry - a thought that is already rudimentally reflected in the 6th Amendment which seeks to equalize information access but is not oriented towards the modern technological situation.

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<		On the first technology project: I have created GPG key but am unsure of where to upload it (what/where are the keyservers?).
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>		April 8 class:

When writing my first paper for this class I was confronted with the question whether there is a right to privacy in the US constitution and where it can be found. It seemed odd to me that such an important right is not explicitly regulated. Last week, I have also been thinking about whether the Constitution should be adjusted to reflect todays technological capabilities. This week's class has fittingly addressed these questions by talking about constitutional creation and the non-exclusive nature and non-explicity of the 9th Amendment rendering the US Constitution flexible and pliable.

Privacy is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution but forms as a retained right that has been recognized in various US Supreme Court judgements a constitutional right under the 9th Amendment. A right that as you have said is "as judiciable as enumerated rights in the Constitution." However, that is difficult to fully understand for me: As the rights in the 9th Amendment are not enumerated and are developed by jurisprudence how can there be certainty which rights exist and how the Supreme Court will decide? Is it not in a way arbitrary to rely on a court to such a high degree?

 

Revision 4r4 - 14 Apr 2020 - 09:08:54 - ChristineOtto
Revision 3r3 - 06 Apr 2020 - 06:59:27 - ChristineOtto
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