The Special Problem of Computers Privacy and Liberty Democracy's commitment to the freedom of the individual requires that society provide special protection not only against unwarranted assaults on our persons but also against unwarranted surveillance of our affairs.
Privacy is central to human dignity and liberty.
Human beings in our community require a retreat from public view. They need a secluded sector in which to ventilate their hopes and fears, their loves and hates. As Orwell's book makes chillingly clear, there can be no liberty without privacy. But, like other fundamental freedoms, privacy cannot be absolute and unlimited. Some limitations under some circumstances are necessary and inevitable.