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A 'Right to Privacy' Amendment?

April 25, 2021

Constitutional Privacy Rights

Although the right to privacy is not specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court has found that several Amendments do imply these rights:

First Amendment: Provides the freedom to choose any kind of religious belief and to keep that choice private.
Third Amendment: Protects the zone of privacy of the home.
Fourth Amendment: Protects the right of privacy against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.
Fifth Amendment: Provides for the right against self-incrimination, which justifies the protection of private information.
Ninth Amendment: This amendment is interpreted to justify a broad reading the Bill of Rights to protect your fundamental right to privacy in ways not provided for in the first eight amendments.
Fourteenth Amendment: Prohibits states from making laws that infringe upon the personal autonomy protections provided for in the first thirteen amendments.

As technology evolves, so does the due process and rules governing the collection and use of private information. In 2012, the Supreme Court Justices made the unanimous decision reviewing the constitutionality of warrantless searches of cell phones, and the Court held that the personal information contained in cell phones and other handheld devices is just as worthy of constitutional protection as more traditional types of information and records.