Daniel Woislaw | Oct. 5, 2019
With a near steady drumbeat of news stories about data breaches, Russian hackers and government surveillance, it’s not surprising that digital privacy is on the minds of many Americans. This includes lawmakers here in Michigan who have become the latest in a series of legislative bodies to push for stronger digital privacy protections.
On Oct. 3, the Senate Judiciary Committee received a proposal, which my organization supports, to amend the state constitution with slight, but very significant language that will go a long way in further securing Michiganians’ privacy rights.
The proposed constitutional amendment adds “electronic data” and “electronic communications” to the list of items the government cannot search or seize without a warrant. Right now, Michigan’s constitution only protects “persons, houses, papers and possessions” against unreasonable search and seizures. Nearly identical language is found in the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, absent the proposed additions.
Michigan’s privacy laws currently focus on vague ideas about whether society regards a particular place or thing to be reasonably private. If the government invades a “reasonable expectation of privacy,” it has committed a search or seizure.
This murky standard, which traces from federal court decisions dating to the 1960s, does not sufficiently protect electronic privacy ― meaning your internet browsing history could fall outside the Constitution’s protection. It also means that government actions that violate privacy can reduce the constitutional protections that defend privacy. Consider how the Edward Snowden leaks affected Americans’ expectations of privacy in their digital communications. They certainly didn’t make Americans feel more secure.
A constitutional protection so vital to American privacy should not be subject to change based on rumors and passing societal sentiments. The proposed amendment would re-focus constitutional privacy rights on the items secured against intrusion rather than whether society expects them to remain private.
In other words, if passed, the amendment would mean that if the government wants to access your electronic data, it would need a warrant supported by probable cause, just as if it tried to search your home…
Continue reading at detroitnews.com HERE.
