From seeking medical treatment to using the telephone, from
applying for a job to sending email over the Internet, our right to
privacy is in peril. The same technological advances that
have
brought enormous benefits to humanity also make us vulnerable to
unwarranted intrusions into our private lives. The right to
privacy
includes the right to control information about ourselves,
including data obtained through existing and new technologies.
To uphold this right, the ACLU-NJ adopts the following principles:
DISCLOSURE: Anyone who keeps personal information about you
for commercial purposes owes a duty to disclose to you their
policies and practices.
ACCURACY: Personal information should be accurate, and you
should have the right to examine, copy, and correct or dispute
personal information about yourself.
SECURITY: You have the right to expect that your personal
information will be protected by security safeguards against such
risks as loss, unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification
or disclosure.
COMMERCIAL DATA COLLECTION: Your personal information
should never be extracted, maintained, or disseminated by any
non-governmental entity without your knowledge and permission.
Organizations must let you know why they're collecting your
information, and they can't use it for reasons other than the one
you gave permission for (unless they get a new permission from you).
Moreover, you have the right not to have irrelevant information,
such as your Social Security Number, extracted from you as a
condition for engaging in transactions with organizations and
institutions, such as employers, insurance companies, and other
commercial entities.
GOVERNMENT USE OF INFORMATION: Government agencies may
collect and store personally identifiable information only when
necessary to a legitimate governmental interest. The fact that
a government agency may have been justified in collecting such
information does not justify maintaining or disclosing the
information if not necessary for a legitimate government purpose.
PRIVACY IN PUBLIC: You have a right to a private self, even
when you are in a public place. This includes a right to be
free from pervasive government surveillance.
RECOURSE: You have a right to a legal remedy for
unjustified privacy violations.
Adopted February 27, 2002
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