The Bill of Rights and Privacy
Nowhere in the United States Constitution is the word "privacy" mentioned. The good news is, the idea of "privacy" is protected by a number of Amendments. It is in the core of our Bill of Rights and therefore, a valid right. Online privacy is a form of privacy and it is therefore also a valid right. So from being citizens to becoming netizens, we have to learn what legal motions are being made towards securing our privacy online if we are to accept the fact that our world is to move towards accepting online reality as a part of everyday reality.
Privacy Invasion
There are 4 known types of privacy invasion on the internet. The first type is search and seizure. Under the Fourth Amendment, American citizens have the right to protection from search and seizure without a warrant and when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. So nobody can search and download your files from your hard drive, even from a remote location, unless you give them consent and your privacy is not undermined. The law becomes more vague though if your files are saved on your internet service provider's server.
The second type is unsolicited e-mail. There is currently nothing in federal law that regulates this. There have been cases though where spammers were sued and the individual complainants won.
The third type is defamation, meaning false and unpriviliged publication which results to economic damages. States are very strict about this and defamation, of any type has brought legal consequences to the defamers.
Last on the list is secrecy and creation of databases containing personal information. There is no federal protection against acts classified under this category.
If the law can't help you, help yourself with history cleaners
There are too many stories about the ill effects and damages caused by privacy invasion to its victims, that a list would never fit in a blog. However, if you have sufficient knowledge of history erasers like evidence eliminator, winclear or paretologic privacy controls, you need not fear being added to the victims list. It's not like you're going to buy a gun to protect yourself. In fact, it prevents you from having a reason to buy a gun and kill somebody for invading your privacy and ruining your life. The wisest thing to do is cover your online tracks.
