Privacy and the Digital State

The terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001 have greatly affected our lives, our livelihoods, and perhaps our way of living. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights were designed to inhibit excessively powerful government. But now, we are counting on it to prevent Americans from being killed with impunity, and to “insure domestic tranquility”. In these times, the government must concentrate more on protecting concrete lives than protecting intangible privacy. The subject of this book – privacy – is where the conflict among our competing interests after September 11 is likely to be sharpest. “The right to be let alone”, pales next to the right not to be blown-up. So “privacy” will inevitably need to accommodate security and safety to a greater extent than before September 11. But for America to continue being America, our constitutional mandates must still be genuinely respected.