Unreasonable Searches

The Fourth Amendment states

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Do you have control of your person, house, papers and effects?  Let me ask it this way... does anyone else have control over any of these things?  If you have a cell phone, if you have an email address, if you have an on-line account with ANY business then your security against unreasonable searches and seizures is at serious risk.  All it takes is a Federal agent to contact your service provider with a request to obtain records for the purpose of preventing national terrorism and your security has been violated without your knowledge.  With or without a warrant, Federal agents have access to significant information about the details of your daily life, including what roads you travelled, where you spent your money, and even who you have had contact with (either by phone, text, email or web-site visits).

If the government does nothing with this information then it's trivial, right?  I mean, no harm, no foul... right?  The problem is that this data does not disappear.  It remains available throughout your lifetime.  If the government right now does nothing with the information, that's fine; but what about a future government?  What about a government that does not respect the right to privacy or the rights of the individual to pursue the benefits of liberty and pursuit of personal happiness?  Today's data remains available for tomorrow's oppressor.

The real resolution to this problem cannot be laws or guidelines to restrict government access because any subsequent government can either ignore or terminate those restrictions.  The challenge is to eliminate the continuation of holding those records or, even better, the creation of those records.

There is no clear and clean solution to this issue that I can recommend at this time.  I simply am advising you that your right to security - to privacy - that the fourth amendment proposes is already seriously eroded.  Be careful in your actions and the documentation that is created.  Likewise, be careful in the power you grant to government.  There will probably be no way to eliminate the records.  The only recourse is to oversee the potential abusers... government officials who seek personal retribution or privilege.  Be careful who you elect and limit your trust that the government will always do what is right.