Teaching with the News What Does the Fourth Amendment Mean Today?
Q. Does the Fourth Amendment prevent businesses and neighbors from invading an individuals privacy? A. No. Although other privacy laws enacted by Congress and state legislatures may place some limits on what private corporations and individuals can do, the Fourth Amendment itself applies only to governmental searches and seizures. For example, there are many state and federal laws that protect some aspects of an individuals right to privacy in his or her medical records. To learn more about these laws, visit the Coalition for Patient Rights and Georgetown Universitys Health Privacy Project Q. Does the Fourth Amendment protect an individuals privacy in the workplace? A. No. Unless an employer promises otherwise, employees should assume that the employer is regularly reviewing incoming and outgoing phone calls (including voice mail), copying and reviewing every e-mail sent or received, tracing every Web site visited, and viewing every document created on the company’s computers. Employer
