Public Defense

So let me take naked pictures of you

By Gideon

One of the most common (and infuriating) responses to any indignation about the government’s surveillance and wiretapping programs is: “I’ve got nothing to hide, I don’t care”. A fundamental underpinning of this argument is that a little bit of intrusion protects our national security, so it’s okay.

I see similar arguments from those not of the criminal defense bent in regards to some basic Constiutional protections: “Well, if I’ve done nothing wrong, then why should it matter that the police didn’t have a warrant.” It underlines the notion that the Fourth Amendment is a “technicality”.

Only criminals need the protection of the 4th, because they have done something wrong or have some to hide. If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t be where they are in the first place.

It’s also why many wonder why there needs to be a criminal defense bar at all, or that hiring a lawyer is a sign of guilt.

Because it could never happen to us - and we have nothing to hide.

Dan Solove, at Co-Op, has a new paper exploring this notion, further fleshing out the different kinds of invasion of privacy and makes an attempt at formulating an effective response to it. It’s a  bit lengthy, but I recommend reading it.

Just because I havenothing to hide, doesn’t mean I want everyone to know everything about me.

[The title of this post is a paraphrasing of a comment Solove received to a post soliciting responses to the "I've got nothing to hide" argument. I don't really want to see you naked, much less take naked pictures.]

Full post as published by A Public Defender on January 02, 2009 (boomark / email).