An Examination of the Right of Privacy
             Prepared for Submission to the 1999 National Debate Topic Selection Committee
             The Right to Be Left Alone: An Examination of the Right of Privacy
             The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
             The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
             "The right to be left alone –– the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by a free people."
             Justice Louis Brandeis, Olmstead v. U.S. (1928)
             Although the word "privacy" does not exist in our constitution, the Fourth Amendment serves as the basis for the discussion of a "right to privacy" in our country, a right which has been controversial since its inception. However, there has never been such an assault on privacy as exists now; the increasing reliance on science and technology and the growing role of government as protector has made it possible to circumvent traditional protections on privacy and subject the individual to increasing scrutiny by government, employers, and the public at large.
             Incursions on privacy have a long history, largely in response to technological advances:
             1861 –– Western Union begins operating the first transcontinental telegraph line
             1861 –– wiretapping begins during the Civil War
             1876 –– the telephone is invented
             1890 –– Louis D. Brandeis articulates the legal expression of a "right to privacy" in a Harvard Law Review article
             1899 –– the credit reporting agency, Equifax Inc., is founded –– under the name Retail Credit Company
             1902 –– the Medical Information Bureau, Inc. is established to act as a clear...