Privacy law

Section 1 (A)

            We are social beings and we are therefore expected to uphold social contract taking note that individuality is essential and therefore we cannot submerge it. The core purpose of social union is to ensure that our individuality is enhanced hence resulting to a just society. This right goes beyond our hurt feelings and is centered on who we are as human beings. Privacy concept is a broad term that has been used for ages and is well recognized by most of the people due to the benefits that accrue from this kind of protection. Privacy issues are increasing each and every new day as the world is globalizing and thus technological advancement which cause violation of privacy. Generally, privacy refers to the right of a human being which protects against any compromises to a person’s privacy by any institution or other people. Each individual has privacy rights independently of what is decided in any social contract hence forming a just society. This rights acts as a limit to the society’s dominion over a person. This allows for people to keep themselves all matter s which they strongly believe that are not in the legitimate significance of the public. Intellectual matters are intangible and are as a result of the numerous efforts by an individual on a previous work of others hence an advanced quality of work (Warren & Brandeis 194-195). They are therefore a creative mental individual’s efforts which have value which involves facts, thoughts, course of action and modes of operations. This kind of properties can be regarded as private properties that also require legal protection against copyright and any violation. This ensures that the integrity of the intellectual property is upheld.

 

            As a result of the way the world is changing, the contemporary right of privacy is essential due to the high rate of growth due to the mechanical reproduction of information. Legal protection on privacy is essential and the law is greatly working on ensuring that the already established laws on privacy are adhered to and implemented. Thus legal protection is needed so as to ensure that a free society is established hence promoting a human good thus encouraging the flourishing of individuals (Allen 1). This is a social need where the individuals are able to cope to the need of living among others within the society. The opportunity for this privacy models an individual into being fit thus allowing their active social contribution and participation. This encourages the establishment of bonds of affection between individuals within the society and hence a common interest.

            Privacy protection through the law ensures that solitude is enhanced where an individual will be free from any form of disturbance within reason (Allen 23).  The individual will also be able to act publicly without being identified thus encouraging anonymity (Allen 23). Intimacy will as well be enhanced where any form of private association will be protected. Personal Information will be reserved hence a restriction on access will be enhanced thus allowing secrecy and confidentiality (Allen 24). This right also protects against privacy in various environments, location privacy, body and communication privacy.

            There are various forms of privacy from which an individual’s integrity is conserved and restricted. Internal self is a form of privacy which occurs where the individual’s emotions, habits and way of life are protected against accessibility.

Restriction to access to an individual’s body and products of their bodies is essential as t plays a core role in making an individual’s life private (Allen 14).

            Information privacy ensures that any data that is either contained inform of electronic or written is protected against accessibility. This form of privacy ensures the confidentiality and integrity of an individual’s information and this is enhanced through the restriction of accessibility. Protection against properties that are tangible, valuable and are transferable is a type of privacy activity. The law therefore protects such properties through restriction of publication activity of the property. Copyright laws are one of the protection activities against duplication and it ensures that the rightful intellectual owners are able to benefit entirely from their publications ((Warren & Brandeis 200). Protection against any form of gossip and press release is a privacy right. This ensures that the individual is allowed to live their lives and they are secured from any gossip and press release that may violate their private lives. It is believed that the press is overstepping in every direction hence resulting to the indecency and lack of property privacy hence leading to more mental pain, distress, body injury and loss of reputation (Warren & Brandeis 196). It is the therefore important for people to be protected against all these types of privacy issues that are building up each single day. This will help in building a just and happy social society with union and oneness. The law has an obligation towards privacy protection as it will ensure that legal protection is implemented while better legal protection procedures are established in cases where the existing laws are inadequate.

 

 

 

 

 

B

            With the increased issues related to privacy, some of the privacy strategies have been put in place and are still being implemented. However, it has proven to be difficult for most of these strategies to work in the   contemporary world due to the globalizing and technological issues. For instance, rights on privacy by communication print and media has yielded strains due to the introduction of even more complex and potentially invasive communications technology thus causing more difficulty in ensuring privacy. The nature of most of this advanced technology has raised some issues which has hindered the success of the rights of privacy. The fact that technology has the ability to copy, communicate and to transfer data at a high speed puts print as well as communication issues such as gossips into a greater risk. This therefore infringes the legal protection from the disclosure of any strictly individual information.

            Surveillance by the government has also made it difficult in maintaining privacy and has in one way or the other resulted into violation of rights of privacy (class lecture on 8/30/16). For instance, most of the American police have camera’s that are used to surveillance every street in each and every neighborhood thus potentially losing on privacy.  Information technology has also played a difficult role of establishing the right of privacy. This is because information technology has the ability to add an entirely varying range of cases of potential infringement of privacy right. This builds up the fear that privacy in the case of information technology have to deal with the concentration of huge amounts of private data about a person and then providing them with even more widespread allocation.

            The government uses data mining process so as to acquire information that would help them combat terrorism. However, there are concerns with the use of radio frequencies identification and consolidating medical personal information which all are violations of an individual’s privacy. The use of these radio frequencies (RFID) is aimed at tracking individual’s products through the manufacturing procedure so as to track the location of persons. Thus the government uses this technology in identifying documents such as passports.

            Some of these terrorism governmental programs are aimed at catching terrorists slightly before they attack a nation by monitoring the emails, financial accounts, health records, databases and travel information. This is an essential program as it helps to curb terrorism but it is however not good as it violates the rights of privacy as it is carrying out its operations. It is therefore recommended that the government should adhere to privacy rights and hence any undertaking that they engage in should first consider the right on privacy (class lecture on 8/30/16). However, the government has a role in ensuring that their citizens are protected against any form of attack and thus they should actively involve themselves in ensuring security and safety for the public. It is therefore recommended that a balance should be stricken between the government and the right for privacy as this will help in serving a multi-purpose. Thus it is commended that before any form of government surveillance, the government should attain approval from a special federal court. This will help in ensuring that the information to be collected will only be used to prevent to terrorism. This would therefore limit the searches that are based on suspicions about a particular person. Also a judicial review on data mining strategies is needed as it will help in preservation of the right of privacy. In maintaining the balance between ethical consideration through the right of privacy and the safety of the people through surveillance, there will be ethical development and future benefits from the peace within a nation and by everyone (class lecture on 8/30/16).

            Metadata is usually used for computing where it describes information of the stored data. A reasonable protection is expected as it is geared towards the restriction of access to the stored data to the public. The metadata should therefore be restricted as it should have a certain level of secrecy since most of these stored data contains personal information and secured information which is highly sensitive. Hence when privacy is violated on the data in the metadata, a group of people’s privacy may be infringed thus causing injuries and great losses. It is therefore essential to ensure that the metadata is kept far away from others and that a higher security measure on this kind of data is implemented so as to ensure that all the stored data receives the privacy that is required hence allowing for integrity, secrecy, isolation and confidentiality of the stored data. However the measure to whether the metadata requires privacy will be determined by the sensitivity of the data stored and on the level of secrecy needed.

            According to the fourth amendment, a person who is invoking it can claim a lawful expectation of privacy especially when the government has invaded on the individual’s privacy. This however embraces two things as to whether a person has exhibited a subjective expectation of privacy and whether the expectation is one that the society can regard as sensible. Smith, the petitioner in this case, failed to entertain any expectation of privacy in his dialed numbers and if there was any expectation it was not lawful (class lecture on 8/30/16). The fact that the petitioner voluntary conveyed numerical information to the telephone organization indicates that he was afraid that the company would expose him and hence the company would reveal the information. He used his home phone rather than a private phone was not regarded as one that preserved the rights of the other person whom he dialed his number (class lecture on 8/30/16). This reason was not one that the society would regard to be sensible.

C

            Basing on the argument given by the government it is quite clear that they are very much determined in stopping the terrorist attack which they regard as an issue of national security. However, their numerous efforts are hindered by the Apple Corporation which refuses to unlock the phone of one of the suspect. Thus, the FBI’s thinks that the unlocking of this I-phone by Apple company would help in preventing any future attack as they would use they would use it to access and be able to see others who are involved. However, the Apple Company argues out that once they unlock one phone, the other agencies will as well ask for the unlocking of more and more phones. They continues to argue that once a software for the unlocking is created then this increases the vulnerabilities hence establishing a backdoor where it exposes the company to cyber security issues (class lecture on 8/30/16). This therefore is the core reason as to why they think that unlocking the phone is not a god idea as they have a responsibility of ensuring their customers privacy.

            Therefore it is essential that the government should deploy their resources into other various areas where they would acquire the information. This is because of the fact that unlocking of only one phone may result to exposures to other malicious terrorists who may take advantage of the vulnerability while undertaking the unlocking process. This may also be viewed as a plan by the terrorist who may have locked the phone intentionally with an aim of driving the FBI into unlocking the phone so as to be able to hack into the system and hence carrying out their malicious activity. The government n this case should focus more on other indicators and searches which has a lighter burden as they employ all the skills that they have in their enforcement. This will ensure that the integrity of the information held by the Apple Company maintains its integrity and all the sensitive and top secret information within the state are secured. Instead of the government using its power to manipulate the private companies, they should negotiate with the Apple Company so as to ensure that they come to a consensus where each party is able to benefit and secured from risks. This will therefore help in creating a healthy and secure place to live in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 2

LEGAL MEMORANDUM

TO:

FROM:

DATE: 13^TH DECEMBER 2016

RE:  (GRISWOLD, ROE AND CASEY- WOMAN’S HEALTH IN TOTALITY) AND (LAWRENCE AND OBERGEFELL – SAME SEX CASES)

 

            Questions Presented

1. According to Griswold and Roe is the right of privacy for women found in the constitution?
2. Does the right to same sex intimacy and marriage as discussed in Lawrence versus Texas and Obergefell be viewed as a right under the right of privacy?

            Short Answers

1. The constitution through the fourteenth amendment in the due process clause restricts the government from intruding in ways that violate upon the right of citizens. The right of privacy started way before Roe where abortion was viewed as non-essential while marital rights were not regarded as important. With Griswold, the right to privacy was protected by the fourteenth amendment. These rights ensured that the women’s rights were adhered to.
2. The court will find out that the homosexuals have liberty as adults to engage themselves in any private undertaking under the substantive law. Hence the state has no right to disgrace their existence and does not have power over their private life and especially their sexual life. The substantive law gives them total liberty to engage in their undertakings without government interference.

 

            Facts

1. Estelle Griswold after starting a clinic, she was arrested for violating the same. However, her attorney defended her using the substantive due process concept. According to the fourteenth amendment, the attorney argued that the right of privacy in this case was violated. To support his case he used the first, third, forth, ninth and fourteenth amendments which would enhance them to make their privacy argument strong (Griswold v Connecticut 1965). Roe who was a twenty one years old, alleged that she was raped and later become pregnant due to the raping. After pleading the doctors to carry out an abortion, they refused arguing that according to the Texas Law, it was a crime to undertake an abortion unless the mother was in danger (Roe v. Wade pg.402).
2. It is after the police were tipped by the neighbors who alleged that there were probable weapons that were causing disturbance. The police on entering Lawrence home they found Lawrence engaging in sex with another man. They were arrested as they were claimed to violate the Texas law which was against homosexual activities (Lawrence v. Texas pg. 430). Obergefell and Arthur who was twenty years wanted to marry before Arthur’s death. As they travelled to Maryland as the state laws there permit same sex marriage. However, before Arthur died, they sued against Ohio officials claiming that ban on marriage by the state infringed on the due process and equal shield as per the fourteenth amendment (Obergefell V. Hodges pg. 438).

            Discussion

1. Roe is suing the county DA of Dallas, Wade as she alleges that Law in Texas violates fundamental personal rights such as medical rights, privacy and marital rights. The issue in this case is whether the mother has a right to abort her pregnancy/ the court is likely to conclude that the woman’s right to abort is within the right f privacy as acknowledged by Griswold versus Connecticut. This decision will give power to the women during their three months while the state will provide different levels of concern on the second and third trimesters. According to the law, the fourteenth amendment is a substantive due process that protects against liberty and privacy is extracted from this clause.
2. According to the law, a state should not prohibit adults from engaging in intimacy of the same sex and marriage of the same as this would be violating the substantive due process of the fourteenth amendment clause. The court therefore would rule that there is no reason that can justify the state’s infringement into private and individual lives. Hence two people of the same sex have a right of privacy that is the right to legally engage in sex and to marry as well.

            Conclusion

1. In accordance to the facts of the case, the court will find out that the right of personal privacy involves termination decisions. However, this right must be considered against the essential nation’s interest in ruling. Therefore abortion is a right to privacy in the first trimester and the law states that a strict investigation is not needed at this level since the state’s interest is on the second and third trimester.
2. In consideration of the facts, the court found out that the homosexuals had liberty as adults to engage themselves in any private undertaking under the substantive law. Hence the state has no right to disgrace their existence and does not have power over their private life and especially their sexual life. The substantive law gives them total liberty to engage in their undertakings without government interference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Warren, S. D., and L. D. Brandeis. "The right of privacy. 4: 5 Harv." L. Rev 193 (1980).

 

Allen, Anita L. Uneasy access: Privacy for women in a free society. Rowman & Littlefield, 1988.