Somebody's Watching Me:
Surveillance and Privacy in an Age of National Insecurity

 

October 22-23, 2009

 

We live in an age of pervasive surveillance that tests traditional understandings of the right to privacy and of Fourth Amendment limitations on government intrusion into our private lives. One obvious impetus for this trend is the heightened sense of insecurity that we feel since September 11, 2001, which has caused us to rethink the proper balance between liberty and security.

National security concerns are not the only forces that have driven increased surveillance. For example, government oversight of eligibility for such entitlements as Medicaid, food stamps, and student loans has produced more efficient and pervasive data collection in recent years. Law enforcement has also availed itself of new surveillance technologies and techniques. Coupled with the growing demand for information, technological innovation at an ever increasing pace greatly enhances the ability of governments and private actors to collect, store, and use personal information in ways that were not contemplated by the framers of the U.S. Constitution.

This symposium brought together leading scholars and practitioners to explore these issues, which arise for a wide variety of lawyers and policy makers out of the increasing impetus toward surveillance.




 

 

 

 



                                                                                    


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