Monday, June 22, 2015

The progressive roots of NSA's privacy violations



The National Security Agency's collection of phone metadata of all Americans under the Patriot Act was defended using national security justifications. A substantial number of Americans, however, believe the NSA violated the Fourth Amendment, which protects our security against unreasonable searches and seizures by government.

The NSA's actions have roots in progressive New Deal ideology, with its contempt for the constitutional separation of powers and private property rights. More specifically, this debate is traced to the New Deal-era erosion of the centuries-old rule of law that only judges may issue warrants, and after a showing of probable cause.

In a recent lawsuit filed by FreedomWorks against the NSA's continued collection of metadata following the sunset of section 215 of the Patriot Act, the Department of Justice responded by citing what's called the "third-party" doctrine explained in a 1979 case, Smith v. Maryland. This judge-created doctrine seems irreconcilable with the Fourth Amendment even before the NSA's recent and controversial application of it....
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