Comment by nonethewiser
2 years ago
Unfortunately, the constitution isnt very clear on privacy. It should be. There should be a new amendment which makes it crystal clear that the Patriot Act, for example, is completely unconstitutional.
But what the 14th amendment says is that people and their property are protected against searches by the government wherever there is a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” That and some combination of other details imply a right to privacy, but its mot very explicit and clearly limited. In light of this, the Supreme Court has actually ruled quite favorably In practice, the Supreme Court has actually ruled pretty favorably towards a right to privacy, considering whats actually in the constitution.
> IX. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
> X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Operating a surveillance apparatus isn't an enumerated power of the federal government. The courts screwed up by reading its enumerated powers so unreasonably broadly that this even came up.