John Locke Social Contract Theory

While the issue of national security is one of the fundamental ideals of government, the indirect support of the right to privacy through the social contract theory discussed by John Locke, the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 9th amendments to the US Constitution, and the existence of other methods of maintaining security take precedence in the daily lives of an American citizen. The idea that a United States Citizen can, and likely does, have all of his or her activity monitored ‘for security purposes’ is unsettling. "If you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to fear," is a commonly used argument for those who favor national security over privacy, and while this may indeed be true, the big brother ideology can make almost anyone uneasy.

Through these, the governments limitations on privacy infringe on the natural right to liberty provided to Americans with the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the Bill of Rights. According to a Heartland Monitor Poll, fifty-three percent of respondents believed that corporations, individuals, and corporations collecting and using their personal data was a violation of both their security and their personal privacy. These personal liberties are what are to be protected by even the most basic of governments, and by the definition of the social contract theory, the power given to the government by the people can be taken away when the contract has been

In late 2015, the case Apple vs. the FBI went to the courts, in which the FBI requested Apple to install a way for the bureau to access the information stored on a San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone. The company denied the request, as this would contradict their position on consumer privacy and avoid setting a ‘dangerous precedent’ in allowing private, personal information to be accessed without user permission. This situation shows that even large corporations handling millions of people’s data daily understand limits, and that sharing that information would be a breach of a natural right to privacy, although limited through their use of the device. It is a part of the judicial system and also written in the Fourth Amendment that there will be “no unreasonable search or seizure,” accounting for the use of warrants to legally obtain evidence or conduct a search in pursuit of information. If the United States holds these practices required in physical evidence/searches, online searches should be held to the same standards, especially because of the amount of personal information stored “securely”