Editing Right to privacy (section)

{{Short description|Legal tradition restraining actions threatening individual privacy}}
{{Redirect|The Right to Privacy|the ''Harvard Law Review'' article|The Right to Privacy (article)}}
{{Redirect|Invasion of privacy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}

The '''right to privacy''' is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain [[governmental]] and private actions that threaten the [[privacy]] of individuals.<ref>"[http://www.privacilla.org/business/privacytorts.html The Privacy Torts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908230758/http://www.privacilla.org/business/privacytorts.html |date=2017-09-08 }}" (19 December 2000). Privacilla.org.</ref>{{failed verification|reason=Source addresses particular development in US law, lacking the universal perspective expressed in intro|date=October 2015}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.uml.edu/sgallagher/Brandeisprivacy.htm|title=Right to Privacy|website=faculty.uml.edu|access-date=31 March 2018}}</ref> Over 185 national [[Constitution|constitutions]] mention the right to privacy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitutions?key=privacy|title=Read about "Right to privacy" on Constitute|website=constituteproject.org|access-date=18 April 2024}}</ref> 
Since the [[global surveillance disclosures (2013–present)|global surveillance disclosures]] of 2013, the right to privacy has been a subject of international debate. Government agencies, such as the [[NSA]], [[FBI]], [[CIA]], [[R&AW]], and [[GCHQ]], have engaged in [[mass surveillance|mass]], [[global surveillance]]. Some current debates around the right to privacy include whether privacy can co-exist with the [[surveillance state|current capabilities]] of [[intelligence agency|intelligence agencies]] to access and analyze many details of an individual's life; whether or not the right to privacy is forfeited as part of the [[social contract]] to bolster defense against supposed terrorist threats; and whether threats of [[terrorism]] are a valid excuse to spy on the general population. Private sector actors can also threaten the right to privacy{{snd}}particularly technology companies, such as [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[Meta Platforms|Meta]], [[Google]], [[Microsoft]], and [[Yahoo]] that use and collect personal data.