Topics in the News: Privacy
Jill Stein on Homeland Security
: Oct 4, 2012
Bush & Obama criminalized the right to protest
ANDERSON: More and more, United States citizens are worried about being safe from our government. Our Government is spying on us. The Patriot Act needs to be repealed.STEIN: Yes, we certainly do need to hold government accountable.
The attack on our civil liberties has been devastating. Under the Obama White House, which basically codified the violations of George Bush, the attacks on our privacy rights, on First Amendment rights, the criminalization of the right to protest, the
National Defense Authorization Act in which the President has claimed the right to incarcerate us, basically, without charge or trial, and to do that at his pleasure without having to justify that in any way. So, yes, there are very serious problems.
Things are not working under Democrats, under Republicans alike. We need a government that is of, by, and for the people, not sponsored and working for big money.
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Source: Democracy Now! Expanded First Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Mitt Romney on Technology
: Sep 4, 2012
Net Neutrality imposes government as a central gatekeeper
OBAMA: It is essential that we take steps to strengthen our cybersecurity and ensure that we are guarding against threats to our vital information systems, all while preserving Americans' privacy, data confidentiality, and civil liberties.ROMNEY:
Unfortunately, Pres. Obama has chosen to impose government as a central gatekeeper in the broadband economy. His policies interfere with the basic operation of the Internet, create uncertainty, and undermine investors and job creators. Specifically, the
FCC's "Net Neutrality" regulation represents an Obama campaign promise fulfilled on behalf of certain special interests, but ultimately a "solution" in search of a problem. The government has now interjected itself in how networks will be constructed and
managed, picked winners and losers in the marketplace, and determined how consumers will receive access to tomorrow's new applications and services. The Obama Administration's overreaching has replaced innovators and investors with Washington bureaucrats
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Source: The Top American Science Questions, by sciencedebate.org
Gary Johnson on Homeland Security
: Aug 1, 2012
Patriot Act is a direct assault on privacy & due process
While many of our liberties are threatened by a government grown too large and too intrusive, there are some fundamental freedoms that are under particular threat.
The Patriot Act, for example, is a direct assault on both privacy and the due processes of law. It should be repealed.
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Source: Seven Principles, by Gary Johnson, p.144
Ron Paul on Abortion
: Jan 7, 2012
Right to privacy is explicit, but not for contraception
Q: [to Paul] Sen. Santorum believes that the Supreme Court was wrong when it decided that a right to privacy was embedded in the Constitution. And following from that, he believes that states have the right to ban contraception, although he's not
recommending that states do that. SANTORUM: The Supreme Court created through a penumbra of rights a new right to privacy that was not in the Constitution.
PAUL: No, I think the 4th Amendment is very clear. It is explicit in our privacy.
You can't go into anybody's house without a search warrant. This is why the Patriot Act is wrong, because you have a right of privacy by the 4th Amendment. As far as selling contraceptives, the Interstate Commerce Clause protects this; it was originally
written not to impede trade between the states, but it was written to facilitate trade between the states. So if it's not illegal to import birth control pills from one state to the next, it would be legal to sell birth control pills in that state.
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Source: WMUR 2012 GOP New Hampshire debate
Mitt Romney on Abortion
: Jan 7, 2012
States shouldn't ban contraception; and no state wants to
Q: [to Romney] Sen. Santorum has been very clear in his belief that the Supreme Court was wrong when it decided that a right to privacy was embedded in the Constitution. And following from that, he believes that states have the right to ban
contraception. Now I should add that he said he's not recommending that states do that. SANTORUM: No, let's be clear. We're talking about the 10th Amendment and the right of states to act.
Q: Gov. Romney, do you believe that states have the
right to ban contraception? Or is that trumped by a constitutional right to privacy?
ROMNEY: I can't imagine a state banning contraception. I can't imagine the circumstances where a state would want to do so, and if I were a governor of a state or a
state legislature, I would totally and completely oppose any effort to ban contraception.
SANTORUM: The Supreme Court created through a penumbra of rights a new right to privacy that was not in the Constitution. I believe it should be overturned.
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Source: WMUR 2012 GOP New Hampshire debate
Ron Paul on Foreign Policy
: Apr 19, 2011
Worldwide interventionism requires perpetual fear
A foreign policy that endorses worldwide intervention and occupation requires that people live in perpetual fear of supposed enemies. In the post-9/11 period, proponents of such policies have been able to promote the fear needed for the American people t
accept policies they otherwise would have rebelled against. Fear has enabled permanent runaway domestic surveillance and the sacrifice of privacy through legislation such as the Patriot Act. A citizen walking through the airport today is bombarded with
1984-style propaganda messages that are designed to make us fear some amorphous threat and also be suspicious of others. The government designs these messages to make us feel dependent and heavily lorded over in every aspect of our lives. These messages
are becoming ever more pervasive, hitting us even in the grocery stores when we are shopping. If we are fearful enough, we are willing to tolerate what might otherwise be regarded as immoral means of dealing with the enemy, such as the use of torture.
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Source: Liberty Defined, by Rep. Ron Paul, p. 10-11
Ron Paul on Technology
: Apr 19, 2011
Surveillance cameras are out of control; safety is no excuse
The government's use of surveillance cameras is out of control. Cameras at traffic lights are pervasive throughout the country. Challenging the charges in court is frequently not even permitted. The excuse is always the same: They are providing safety for
us. But unlike in the private sector, this is not really believable. Government much too often violates our privacy and at the same time is fanatical in protecting its own secrecy. Not only are the government's cameras proliferating the government itself
is turning even the private camera into a threat it otherwise would not be. Under the Patriot Act, private cameras, as well as cell phones and the Internet, are vulnerable to an aggressive federal government. Nothing good can come out of permitting
government to film our every move. It strikes me like a scene out of Orwell's 1984. What I would like to see is the opposite: citizens who film ever more government activity, a live camera in every government bureaucracy that can be seen by all citizens.
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Source: Liberty Defined, by Rep. Ron Paul, p.278-279
Marco Rubio on Abortion
: Feb 3, 2010
No right to privacy, that resulted in the Roe v. Wade
I support judges who will respect the rule of law, strictly interpret our Constitution and not legislate from the bench. I opposed Judge Sonia Sotomayor [based on] her case history and testimony regarding the Second Amendment at the state level, eminent
domain takings and the so-called constitutional right to privacy that resulted in the Roe v. Wade decision. Together, these and other cases point to a nominee who would bring an activist approach to the highest court in the land.
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Source: 2010 Senate campaign website, www.marcorubio.com, "Issues"
Sarah Palin on Abortion
: Oct 1, 2008
Constitution does offer an inherent right to privacy
Q: Do you think there’s an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution? A: I do. Yeah, I do.
Q: The cornerstone of Roe v. Wade.
A: I do.
And I believe that individual states can best handle what the people within the different constituencies in the 50 states would like to see their will ushered in an issue like that.
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Source: 2008 CBS News presidential interview with Katie Couric
Joe Biden on Abortion
: Oct 1, 2008
Constitution does offer an inherent right to privacy
Q: Do you think there’s an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution? A: I think the liberty clause of the 14th Amendment offers a right to privacy. Now that’s one of the big debates that I have with my conservative scholar friends, that they say,
you know, unless a right is enumerated--unless it’s actually uses the word “privacy” in the Constitution--then no such “constitutional right” exists. Well, I think people have an inherent right.
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Source: 2008 CBS News presidential interview with Katie Couric
Barack Obama on Drugs
: Aug 14, 2007
A “secret smoker”, especially around reporters
There was a reason besides personal privacy why Obama had been so resistant to my presence [while preparing this book]: Obama was a secret smoker--and he did not want to light up in front of a reporter.
Some politicians are comfortable smoking in front of the media or in public, while others believe the habit will reflect poorly on their public image. Obama was in the latter group, almost to an obsessive degree.The public portrait of
Obama now bordered on saintly, especially for a politician. Learning that he smoked might tarnish this picture. So Obama went to great lengths to conceal the habit.
It really came as no surprise to me that Obama smoked. His wife mentioned in our
interview that Obama had a cigarette dangling from his lips on their first lunch together. He had written in Dreams from My Father about smoking in the college dorms. But most telling, like most smokers, he occasionally smelled of tobacco.
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Source: From Promise to Power, by David Mendell, p.258&272-273
Ron Paul on Government Reform
: Aug 5, 2007
End government secrecy; restore openness of information
Q: What will you restore to the Oval Office?A: I would restore openness to government. I do not think in this country we should have secrecy of government. The purpose of government is to provide privacy for the people. I would never use executive
privilege to deny information to the Congress, with the full realization that you protect security information, but in the very general sense, we should be very, very open. We want a transparent government. Currently I believe we could improve on that.
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Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate
Ron Paul on Homeland Security
: May 3, 2007
Be cautious about warrantless searches & habeas corpus
Q: What mistakes do you see in the Bush administration?
A: I would work very hard to protect the privacy of American citizens, being very, very cautious about warrantless searches. And I would guarantee that I would never abuse habeas corpus.
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Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC
Joe Biden on Abortion
: Apr 26, 2007
Nominees should agree on constitutional right to privacy
Q: As president would you have a specific litmus test question on Roe v. Wade that you would ask of your nominees for the high court? A: I strongly support Roe v. Wade. I wouldn’t have a specific question but I would make sure that the people
I sent to be nominated for the Supreme Court shared my values; and understood that there is a right to privacy in the United States Constitution. That’s why I led the fight to defeat Bork, Roberts Alito, and Thomas.
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Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC
Barack Obama on Homeland Security
: Mar 27, 2007
Homeland security must protect citizens, not intrude on them
Every democracy is tested when it is faced with a serious threat. As a nation we have to find the right balance between privacy and security, between executive authority to face threats and uncontrolled power.
What protects us are the procedures we put in place to protect that balance, namely judicial warrants and congressional review. These are concrete safeguards to make sure surveillance hasn’t gone too far.
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Source: In His Own Words, edited by Lisa Rogak, p. 99
Barack Obama on Homeland Security
: Mar 27, 2007
Personal privacy must be protected even in terrorism age
Americans fought a revolution in part over the right to be free from unreasonable searches, to ensure that our government couldn’t come knocking in the middle of the night for no reason.
We need to find a way forward to make sure that we [stop] terrorists while protecting the privacy and liberty of innocent Americans.
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Source: In His Own Words, edited by Lisa Rogak, p.132
Marco Rubio on Technology
: Nov 1, 2006
Protect against identity theft with privacy opt-in
Protection from Identity Theft- Enhance penalties for identity theft crimes that affect persons sixty-five years or older
- Make any unauthorized possession of another's personal identity information a felony
-
Adopt an "opt in" policy that requires government and business to receive permission from citizens before distributing any of their personal information
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Source: 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future by Marco Rubio
Sarah Palin on Education
: Jul 31, 2006
Let parents opt out of schoolbooks they find offensive
Q: Will you support the right of parents to opt out their children from curricula, books, classes, or surveys, which parents consider privacy-invading or offensive to their religion or conscience?
A: Yes. Parents should have the ultimate control over what their children are taught.
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Source: Eagle Forum 2006 Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire
Hillary Clinton on Civil Rights
: Jun 16, 2006
Pushing for privacy bill of rights
Hillary Clinton urged creation of a “privacy bill of rights” to protect people’s personal data. Clinton’s speech on protecting consumers from identity theft and citizens from government snooping was the latest in a series of talks billed as “major
addresses” by aides. Previous speeches were on energy and the economy. A potential presidential candidate in 2008, Clinton noted her work on a House committee investigating the Nixon administration’s illegal snooping and other abuses. Clinton said
any president should have the latest technology to track terrorists, but within laws that provide for oversight by judges. “The administration’s refrain has been, ‘Trust us,’” Clinton said. “That’s unacceptable.
Their track record doesn’t warrant our trust. Unchecked mass surveillance without judicial review may sometimes be legal but it is dangerous. Every president should save those powers for limited critical situations.”
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Source: 2008 speculation in Associated Press
Ron Paul on Technology
: Dec 31, 1987
Gov’t computer snooping makes National ID Card inevitable
We allow the FBI and CIA to snoop on everything and everybody, and rarely is the snooping challenged on principle. The computer age is now upon us, and this technology could easily eliminate completely the privacy that should be
cherished by all freedom-loving individuals. Like nuclear power, computer technology can enhance or standard of living or destroy our freedom completely. It is just a matter of time until we have a mandatory national ID card.
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Source: Freedom Under Siege, by Ron Paul, p. 16-17
Page last updated: Apr 30, 2013