Privacey in Cyberspace: Federal Law, Online Commerce, Citizens, and rights in Conflict with the Digital Age
Graduation Date
Spring 1999
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program Name
Humanities
First Reader
Christian Dean, PhD
Second Reader
James Boitano, PhD
Abstract
This thesis examines the conflict of interest between a U.S. citizen’s right to privacy on the Internet, as defined by the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights and Supreme Court rulings, and the federal government’s expressed need to intrude, in some cases, when a felony or threat to law and order are suspected. How will these conflicting needs be balanced? Federal privacy laws-- historically a hodgepodge-lag behind a burgeoning cyberspace. Because of this situation, U.S. citizens, legislators, government regulators, online businesses, and privacy advocates face fundamentally new questions regarding privacy as they try to set legal parameters in cyberspace. Issues such as encryption and online anonymity, privacy rights issues increasingly linked to free speech rights and e-commerce, drive the debate of federal telecommunications policy. Traditionally, that policy has leaned toward access to encrypted communications. But must the government’s efforts of promoting law and order on the Internet come at the price of limiting privacy and free speech, possibly creating a society of distrust rather than trust among its citizens? After all, what kind of society do we want?