Nova :
I need to know what law protects privacy?
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Constitutional, specifically the forth amendment:
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.
All other subsequent laws regarding privacy must comply with this.
Technically, no law protects your privacy. There are too many loopholes available that reason that a person voluntarily gave up such privacy privileges because (insert reason here).
The Supreme Court has ruled that there are implied rights to privacy (for example, Roe v Wade, but that’s not the only one) but that right is easily surrendered by your own actions.
The following site will provide you a wealth of information on privacy and the law..
United States of America
There is no explicit right to privacy in the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court has ruled that there is a limited constitutional right of privacy based on a number of provisions in the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments. This includes a right to privacy from government surveillance into an area where a person has a “reasonable expectation of privacy” [fn 268] and also in matters relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, child rearing and education. [fn 269] However, records held by third parties such as financial records or telephone calling records are generally not protected unless a specific federal law applies. The court has also recognized a right of anonymity [fn 270] and the right of groups to not have to disclose their members’ names to government agencies. [fn 271]
The U.S. has no general privacy protection law. The Privacy Act of 1974 protects records held by U.S. Government agencies and requires them to apply basic fair information practices. [fn 272] Its effectiveness is significantly weakened by administrative interpretations of a provision allowing for disclosure of personal information for a “routine use” compatible with the purpose for which it was originally collected. Limits on the use of the Social Security Number have also been undercut in recent years for a number of purposes.
There is no privacy oversight agency in the U.S. The Office of Management and Budget plays a limited role in setting policy for federal agencies and has not been particularly active or effective. The Federal Trade Commission has oversight and enforcement powers for the laws protecting consumer credit information and fair trading practices. [fn 273] Recently, the FTC began requiring that companies follow the privacy notices on their Internet sites. [fn 274] The FTC said in September 1998 that it would seek legislation to cover Internet privacy. [fn 275] An FTC judge also recently found that TransUnion, a major credit bureau, had violated the law by using information from credit reports for direct marketing purposes. [fn 276]
Surveillance of telephone, oral and electronic communications for criminal investigations is governed by the Omnibus Safe Streets and Crime Control Act of 1967 and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986. [fn 277] Police are required to obtain a court order based on a number of legal requirements. Surveillance for national security purposes is governed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which has less legal requirements. [fn 278] The laws were amended by a controversial bill in 1994 to force telephone companies to redesign their equipment to facilitate surveillance. [fn 279] There were 1186 orders for interceptions for criminal purposes and 749 for national security purposes in 1997. [fn 280]
A patchwork of laws covers some specific areas of information. [fn 281] These include financial records, [fn 282] credit reports, [fn 283] video rentals, [fn 284] cable television, [fn 285] educational records, [fn 286] motor vehicle registrations, [fn 287] and telephone records. [fn 288] The Freedom of Information Act was enacted in 1966. [fn 289] There is also a variety of sectoral legislation on the state level that may give additional protections to citizens of individual states. [fn 290] The tort of privacy was first adopted in 1892 and all but two of the 50 states recognize a civil right of action for invasion of privacy in their laws.
There has been significant debate in the United States over recent years about the development of privacy laws covering the private sector. There are over 100 bills pending in Congress on privacy protection, including laws on genetic and medical records, Internet privacy, children’s privacy and other issues. [fn 291] However, the current position of the White House and the private sector is that self-regulation is sufficient and that no new laws should be enacted except for limited measures on children’s privacy and medical information.
The U.S. is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development but has not adopted the OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data in any substantive way in either the public or private sector.
Footnotes available on this site: