[governance] RE: [bestbits] "UN must step in to stop cyber threats"

[Norbert Bollow]

Michael Gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com> wrote:

> Mr. Michael Hayden, the former head of the NSA mentioned in an
> interview with CBS the quite obvious but often forgotten point that
> the US Constitution and specifically it's privacy provisions (4th
> amendment) govern/protect US citizens only and is not the basis for
> any international treaty or pact.
> http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57592169/nsa-spying-ally-anger-justified/

Yes, unless and until the relevant US supreme court decision [1] is
overturned, indeed the US constitution (specifically the 4th amendment)
protects only the privacy of citizens and residents of the US.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Verdugo-Urquidez

I think that there is a point in this that goes beyond this particular
fact.

The actual text of the relevant part of the US constitution (the 4th
amendment) is as follows:

  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.

I would suggest that whether “the people” refers to all people
everywhere or only to a subset is a question of interpretation.

I would further suggest that in view of international human rights law,
the appropriate interpretation is to interpret “the people” in this
amendment as referring to all people everywhere.

Alas the US supreme court has interpreted it differently, assigning
greater weight to US national interests than to the human rights of
people outside the US.

This lack of assigning, in actual legal practice, an appropriately high
priority to human rights is a pretty widespread failure of legal
systems worldwide.

Greetings,
Norbert

-- 
Recommendations for effective and constructive participation in IGC:
1. Respond to the content of assertions and arguments, not to the person
2. Be conservative in what you send, be liberal in what you accept


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