Who should decide whether or not the information you email or text is private, you or government?

Question

• 7 votes
• Read all opinions

	Me	7 votes, 100%
	Government	0 votes
	I don't know	0 votes

Answer 1

Hi Starchild,

Here, I am going to say that since e-mail is somewhat a replacement for snail mail, then the same principles would apply...you cannot open someone's private letter, and so e-mail to be accorded the same privacy.

Answer 2

I also believe that it's our right to privacy to e-mail anything we wish or text if you like. It's not the government's job to snoop or say what we can e-mail to others. Like Virginia said, we could just go back to snail mail and would they have time to look at every letter to censor it? I think not.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, it is a LOT less labor intensive for the government to open and read emails than to open and read snail mail.

So the government does it because it can.

And the politicians are afraid to do anything about it because if email privacy is restored, and an attack is organized by email, the politicians don't want to be responsible.

Comments

Whew! O'Tink, that is kinda scary.

Answer 4

Privacy is and should be our right, and the secrecy of correspondence is, normally, a fundamental, legal principle:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secrecy_of_correspondence

Comments

Marianne, I enjoyed and appreciated that link on The Secrecy of Correspondence. Apparently it is written into several constitutions of European countries, and generally accepted to be covered by the USA Fourth Amendment to our constitution.

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Yes, Virginia, indeed, but like every right or rule, it is a two-edged sword.

Answer 5

I would not like that someone is reading my email messages. I use email to sign up and receive newsletters. I rarely use it for communication.