Legal Aspects of Electronic Privacy

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Legal Aspects of Electronic Privacy

• CSCI 327

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Is your right to privacy protected by the U.S.
Constitution?

• No. Well, maybe. ...
• 1st Amendment
• Congress shall make no law respecting an
  establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
  free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom
  of speech, or of the press or
• 14th Amendment
• No State shall deprive any person of life,
  liberty, or property, without due process of law.
  
• 9th Amendment
• The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain
  rights, shall not be construed to deny or
  disparage others retained by the people.

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4th 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.

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Olmstead v. United States

• Olmstead ran a bootleg operation
• prohibition officers tapped his phone via the
  basement without a warrant
• they did not enter his apartment
• in 1928, Supreme Court ruled Olmstead's rights
  were not violated

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Federal Communications Act of 1934

• illegal to intercept and reveal wire
  communications without a warrant
• FBI still wiretapped phones during WWII for
  national security purposes

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NSA

• Starting during WWII, the Signal Security Agency
  monitored all telegrams entering and leaving the
  US
• The program was later used to
• fight organized crime
• war on drugs
• monitor anti-Vietnam war groups
• NSA ended the program in 1975

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Katz v United States

• without a warrant, police placed a bug on the
  outside of a public phone booth used by Katz to
  make illegal bets
• In 1967, the US Supreme Court ruled Katz's rights
  were violated.
• Katz reasonably thought his conversation was
  private, hence the recording was an illegal
  search and seizure
• the 4th amendment protects people, not places
• the 4th amendment governs seizure of tangible
  items, as well as recording of oral statements

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Wiretaps

• 1968 - Crime Control and Safer Streets Act
• wiretap warrants require probable cause
• annual report of wiretaps submitted to congress
• 1972 - US Supreme Court
• warrantless wiretaps illegal, even regarding
  national security
• 1994 - Communication Assistance for Law
  Enforcement Act
• telecom companies must design their digital
  systems to be tap-able

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Electronic Communications Privacy Act

• enacted in 1986
• ECPA was an amendment to Title III of the Omnibus
  Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, which
  was primarily designed to prevent unauthorized
  government access to private electronic
  communications.
• Title I of ECPA protects electronic
  communications while in transit.
• Title II of the ECPA, protects messages stored on
  computers.
• Title III prohibits the use of pen register
  and/or trap and trace devices to record dialing,
  routing, addressing, and signaling information
  used in the process of transmitting wire or
  electronic communications.

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Communicat
ions_Privacy_Act
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Patriot Act
Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and
Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT)

• allows officials to track emails without showing
  probable cause
• allows roving surveillance for intelligence (not
  just crime investigation), tapped device does not
  have to be owned by the suspect
• search warrants no longer have to be served
• warrants for records do not require probable
  cause

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Patriot Act Contents

• Numerous amendments to existing laws
• E.g. FERPA
• Universities may supply student info to law
  enforcement without student consent or
  notification
• requires warrant related to terrorism
• Monitoring of Foreign Students

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Question

• Your Analysis?
• does the government have too much or too little
  ability to conduct surveillance

13
Workplace Privacy

• you don't have many workplace privacy rights

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Export of Encryption Technology

• As of January 2000
• Encryption products with less than 64-bits are
  freely exportable.
• "Retail" encryption products are widely
  exportable to all but certain "terrorist" nations
  though still subject to a government review and
  reporting requirements.
• Non-retail products are also exportable, subject
  to similar requirements, to most non-government
  users.
• Some non-proprietary source code is exportable to
  most countries after notice to the government.

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Debate - Tuesday Feb 17

• Format
• 5 minute opening statements from each group
• alternating 5 questions from each side
• 5 minute concluded statements
• Grade based on quality of arguments
• everyone in the group receives the same grade
• everyone must participate
• Recommendations
• do research
• assign specific people for
• opening statement
• questions for opposition
• answers to questions from opposition
• closing statement