PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

high-tech technology background with eyes on computer display

Full Text of My Book, NOTHING TO HIDE: THE FALSE TRADEOFF BETWEEN PRIVACY AND SECURITY

I’m delighted to announce that I have posted the full text of my book, NOTHING TO HIDE: THE FALSE TRADEOFF BETWEEN PRIVACY AND SECURITY (Yale University Press 2011) on SSRN for free. With the press’s permission, I’m posting the entire book on SSRN, free for personal use. Students assigned the book for a class may […]

Top 10 Privacy Law Developments of the Decade 2010-2019

Top 10 Privacy Law Developments of the Decade 2010-2019 02

It is an understatement to say that a lot has happened in privacy law during the past decade. Here is my list of the most notable developments. NOTE: I am giving a particular emphasis to what I find to be notable from a United States perspective.  What is notable privacy law depends upon where one […]

The Supreme Court on Smart Phones: An Interview of Bart Huffman about Law and Technology

The U.S. Supreme Court has been notoriously slow to tackle new technology. In 2002, Blackberry launched its first smart phone. On June 29, 2007, Steve Jobs announced the launch of the original Apple iPhone. But it took the Supreme Court until 2014 to decide a case involving the Fourth Amendment and smart phones – Riley […]

Carpenter v. United States, Cell Phone Location Records, and the Third Party Doctrine

Carpenter v US - cell-site location information 02

The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a decision in Carpenter v. United States, an important Fourth Amendment case that was eagerly awaited by many. The decision was widely cheered as a breakthrough in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence — hailed as a “landmark privacy case” and a “major victory for digital privacy [link no longer available].”  In the NY […]

10 Reasons Why the Fourth Amendment Third Party Doctrine Should Be Overruled in Carpenter v. US

10 Reasons to Overrule the Fourth Amendment Third Party Doctrine

The U.S. Supreme Court will be hearing arguments this week in Carpenter v. United States, which is one of the most important Fourth Amendment cases before the Court.  The case involves whether the Third Party Doctrine will remain viable.  If so, the Fourth Amendment will fade into obsolescence in today’s digital age. In this post, […]

The Nothing-to-Hide Argument – My Essay’s 10th Anniversary

Privacy Surveillance Nothing to Hide Argument

In response to government surveillance or massive data gathering, many people say that there’s nothing to worry about.  “I’ve got nothing to hide,” they declare.  “The only people who should worry are those who are doing something immoral or illegal.” The nothing-to-hide argument is ubiquitous.  This is why I wrote an essay about it 10 […]

The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age

    I am now offering the full text of my book The Digital Person:  Technology and Privacy in the Information Age (NYU Press 2004) online for FREE download.

Without Scalia, Will There Be a 4th Amendment Revolution?

The passing of Justice Antonin Scalia has brought a wave of speculation about current and future U.S. Supreme Court cases.  One area where there might be a significant impact will be the 4th Amendment, which provides the primary constitutional protection against government surveillance and information gathering.  A new justice could usher in a dramatic expansion […]

Privacy Need Not Be Sacrificed for Security

NSA Surveillance

I’ve long been saying that privacy need not be sacrificed for security, and it makes me delighted to see that public attitudes are aligning with this view.  A Pew survey revealed that a “majority of Americans (54%) disapprove of the U.S. government’s collection of telephone and internet data as part of anti-terrorism efforts.”  The anti-NSA […]

Modernizing Electronic Surveillance Law

By Daniel J. Solove Next year, there will be a milestone birthday for the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) – the primary federal law that regulates how the government and private parties can monitor people’s Internet use, wiretap their communications, peruse their email, gain access to their files, and much more. This is no ordinary […]