Personal Privacy in the Age of Information

We are constantly leaving trails of information behind us - we give our Social Security Numbers, credit information and phone numbers; we post on facebook, twitter, and google. What keeps us safe? What stops people from using that information against us?1 We need guaranteed protection of personal privacy in our laws. We need to build a state and nation in which we expect and receive a certain level of privacy. Privacy is an essential underpinning of human dignity and free expression. It encompasses not just physical privacy, but the freedom to control your cultural presence, and manage the information and identity that surrounds you. A trusting and free democratic society cannot function without the protection of a person's private life and sphere. Surreptitious and intrusive surveillance is toxic to trust, social harmony and the integrity of the state.2 - Pirate Party platform The September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States was one of the most tragic events in recent history. It changed the lives of many people, instilled a sense of fear, and created a common enemy in the minds of the American public. This sense of fear, this common enemy, was used by many as a justification for surveillance. However, we cannot let one attack change the ideals by which the government makes legislation. We cannot let the fear of another attack stop the forward progress of our freedoms. Since the 9/11 attacks, the United States has been going backwards, instead of forwards, in regards to civil rights. The governments under both President Bush and Obama have disproportionately taken away civil liberties in favor of building the infrastructure of national security, and the culture of politics has evolved to reflect this. President Obama recently spoke about making a choice between privacy and security.3 Governor Walker, in a forum with governor Chris Christie, agreed with the latter that the safety of the people is the number one priority of the government.4 Looking back to the words of Franklin, we can see that this is not the framers intent. The first priority of the government should be instead to keep our liberties intact. Only after defending these essential liberties can we move on to the security of the people. The lesson we take from the 9/11 attacks cannot be for us to fear others and to give up our rights instead our response must be to work together to build our communities back to what they once were we must work to thrive despite the horrors of that day. We as people have rights rights inherent to our persons and guaranteed by the constitutions of both the United States and Wisconsin. These rights should be interpreted broadly. We must take each part of the constitution and interpret it such that the rights of the people are maximized.5 These rights, of course, include the right to personal privacy. While not specifically guaranteed by any of the constitutional amendments, privacy is something that the majority of Americans believe can be established as a right because of the 9th amendment. The United States Supreme Court has agreed with this stance because of this necessity of broad interpretation (Griswold v. Connecticut).6 Our right to privacy, then, is guaranteed by the 9th amendment. The people should not have to make a choice between privacy and security. Since the events of 9/11, the NSA has

become a key national player in the invasion of that privacy.7 The public is fed up with this creation of a surveillance state, and fed up with making a choice between two necessities. While there have been many public outcries for the NSA to stop keeping secrets, they have continued to deny the people. In the past week, there was yet another information release on the ridiculous lengths to which the NSA has gone violating our privacy.8 There is a problem with the national government they are not only keeping secrets from us, but they are also taking our private information. What then, can we do as a state? It would almost seem that this is solely a national problem, and thus requires a national solution. There are, in fact, things the state can do to change this; however, there are very few effective ways to do so directly (barring a constitution convention). Instead, the state must take on a different approach to solving this national problem. Wisconsin must build herself as an example of privacy protection. Our state must pressure the national government to stop the surveillance of her citizens, and must make all attempts to protect that privacy which is their right. Thankfully, Wisconsin has already taken many steps in that direction. In 1977, the state passed Statute 995.50, which specifically recognizes the citizens right to privacy.9 In addition, there has been an attempt in recent years to create pieces of legislation that work to increase civilians right of privacy.10 This was done because of an accident that occurred under the Doyle administration. A series of Social Security Number releases by state departments shocked the Wisconsin public. The state has since then taken actions to ensure that this does not happen again and that the privacy of individuals in Wisconsin remain intact. Some of the broader legislation enacted by the state legislature is something which Wisconsinites should be proud of. We can continue this trend by working with the legislature to increase the level of privacy protections. We can advocate on a national scale for the NSA to stop its unwanted and unconstitutional surveillance of Wisconsins citizens. As a people, we can work to pressure the national government to find a solution, and we can set an example for the rest of the country to strive toward.

Francis J. Klein Pirate Party candidate for governor

Sources: 1. https://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/internet-privacy 2. http://pirateparty.org.au/wiki/Platform#Privacy 3. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/07/obama-defends-nsa_n_3406448.html 4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1AVj9Ysczo 5. http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_84.html 6. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/rightofprivacy.html 7. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324094704579067422990999360 8.http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-infiltrates-links-to-yahoo-googledata-centers-worldwide-snowden-documents-say/2013/10/30/e51d661e-4166-11e3-8b74d89d714ca4dd_story.html 9. http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/995.pdf 10. http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/pubs/wb/08wb9.pdf

Additional Resources: Multiple surveys of public opinion on personal privacy: http://epic.org/privacy/survey/ NSA instance of privacy violation: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324094704579067422990999360 Spying done on Chancellor Merkel: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24690055