Research On The American History Of Constitutional Protection Of Privacy Right

With a tradition of collectivism, China is a country whose social culture emphasizes on the obedience and attachment of the individual to the collective and does not advocate personal independence and privacy. However, due to the change of social and economic patterns, the traditional social organization is in constant process of deconstruction and remodeling. Correspondingly, the sense of independence and the awareness of privacy of citizens are gradually budding and developing. The development of scientific technology and the improvement of the living standard leads to less dependence of individuals on the collective organization. People can choose the social distance between he and the collective or others. But it is precisely the development of scientific technology which promotes the individual seeking of privacy and independence that makes the individual’s private information more readily available and the phenomenon of privacy violations are increasing. Electronization of personal information and dissemination entails a risk that our information generated in all social activities may be abused and violated. Unfortunately, our privacy protection regime is still in the blank. Therefore, I try to make a research of the emergence and historical development of US Constitution privacy law and sum up experience and lessons from their establishment of constitutionally protection right of privacy, in hope that it may give us some inspiration for China’s privacy protection legislation and judgment.This thesis firstly clarify the historical origins of the concept of privacy. The concept of privacy originates in the sense of shame. The description of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit in Old Testament can be regarded as the origin of written ideas about privacy; in the Roman era, though collective social ideas was greatly believed, the concept of independence and privacy had been spread. With social progress and productivity, it is also from the extreme fanaticism of collectivism gradually return to the family and the individual, the concept of privacy has been further publicize; after entering the modern social thinkers for civil rights and freedoms and to promote the concept of praise, more and more people are becoming aware of the spirit of independence go hand in hand with the concept of privacy. Throughout the emergence and development of the concept of privacy, it is a pursuit of the history of emancipation and civil rights. The generation and development of American concept of privacy can be seen the epitome of history of privacy concept.In Boyd v. United States case, though the trial judge did not explicitly advocate the protection of privacy, he enlarged the explanation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution and proposed the protection of privacy rights and interests. So it laid the foundation for the constitutional protection of privacy rights. Later, in Olmstead v. United States case, although the judgement did not admit the protection of privacy rights, Judge Brandeis proposed that "the scope of the Fourth Amendment should not be limited to the protection of citizens’personal and tangible property, and should also be extended to a wider range to protect the interests of the citizens’ privacy. This opinion strengthen the recognition of privacy right in the United States Constitution. Then in Lopez v. United States case of 1964, although the privacy right had not been recognized yet, Judge Brennan’s rigorous opposition laid the foundation for enlarged explanation of Fourth Amendment and is the cornerstone of the establishment of constitutional privacy right. Katz v. United States case overturned restrictive interpretation of the Fourth Amendment’s viewpoint established in Olmstead case. It is the first case that applied privacy theory to explain the Fourth Amendment privacy. The standard established in this case was later widely quoted for privacy case. Tigris Wood v. Connecticut case first put forward the general concept of a constitutional right of privacy, and specified the field of right existed in bills of rights.There a variety of social factors that influences the US Constitution’s protection of the privacy interests. Individual-based cultural traditions and social progress offers the United States social recognition and common demand for privacy rights, which is also the root cause for privacy protection of the US Constitution. Whereas the awareness of right, the political system of a democratic society are the cornerstone for protection of the right of privacy. Only in a democratic society respecting the rights, privacy right which closely connected with civil rights can be well developed. A series of constitutional amendments to the Constitution realized the constitutional protection of privacy, and a great number of excellent American judges who respect for the rights of citizens and tirelessly study constitutional provisions are effectively promoted privacy protection process.Contrasting with the greatly developed American privacy protection, our current situation are alarming. Recently citizen privacy information has been leaked and abused concussively, which tell us that our privacy protection is essential and urgent. In view of the good legal protection of privacy in the United States, I think that China should protect right of privacy from constitutional levels:first, the protection of privacy should be included in the constitutional provisions, so that the administration of justice is confirmed with law. Second, the department law should be refined based on the relevant provisions of the Constitution Act, so the protection of privacy can be implemented. Finally, we should enhance the sense of respecting and protecting the privacy in the whole society through a number of classic cases of constitutional protection.