POLICY / PRIVACY

Privacy as a constitutional principle.

A constitutional right to privacy. Stronger limits on government surveillance and bulk data collection.

I support a constitutional right to privacy and stronger restrictions on government surveillance, particularly warrantless bulk or mass surveillance and data collection.

Government access to personal information deserves meaningful limits. My position is that privacy should be a constitutional principle, not merely a preference that can be set aside for convenience.

These are positions I support—not promises of enactment, implementation, or outcomes.

Treat privacy as a constitutional right

I support recognizing and protecting a constitutional right to privacy. This is the principle I support. I have not selected a new constitutional amendment or another legal mechanism, and this page does not propose final legal wording.

Restrict warrantless bulk surveillance and collection

I support stronger restrictions on warrantless bulk or mass surveillance and data collection by government. Collecting information on a large scale should not be treated as an ordinary convenience without regard for the privacy of the people whose information is involved.

This position concerns government surveillance. It does not set out a ban on all government recordkeeping or define the treatment of necessary administrative records. Specific legal standards, exceptions, and remedies remain to be developed.

Distinguish the principle from existing law

These are the protections I support strengthening. They are not a claim that every form of surveillance described here is already unlawful, or that a new privacy amendment has been adopted.

Legal background, separate from this proposal: Congress’s Constitution Annotated discusses current Fourth Amendment search-and-seizure doctrine. Existing law and the policy changes I support are distinct.

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Adam Chancery · Privacy
Published

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