Societal Expectations of Privacy in the Digital Age

• In Event: Privacy in Our Digital and Technological World

Abstract

This paper examines the Fourth Amendment privacy rights that individuals have or should have in information that they voluntarily disclose to third parties, such as cell phone providers or companies like Facebook or Foursquare. Federal courts have generally held that a person has no privacy interests in information like this, and thus that a warrant is not required in order for the government to access such information. However, in her concurring opinion in United States v. Jones, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor suggested that this premise might need to be reconsidered in the digital age. While some judges and commentators have argued that members of society have come to accept a diminished level of privacy, Justice Sotomayor disagrees and posits that secrecy should not necessarily be a prerequisite to privacy. Through a unique survey designed specifically for this project, this paper examines societal expectations of privacy in the digital age. Specifically, the study presents the results of opinions regarding law enforcement and government access to digital sources, such as: phone calls; text messages; emails; phone apps; URL histories; online social media; cloud-stored materials; hard drives; and online retail sales.

Authors

• Christine Scott-Hayward, California State University, Long Beach

• Ryan Glen Fischer, California State University, Long Beach

• Henry (Hank) F. Fradella, Arizona State University