AFFIRMATIVE — DISADVANTAGE — FREE SPEECH — ANSWERS 186

PRIVACY CAN BE WEIGHED AGAINST FREE SPEECH

PRIVACY IS AS IMPORTANT AS FREE SPEECH

Steven J. Heyman, Associate Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law, "RIGHTING THE BALANCE: AN INQUIRY INTO THE FOUNDATIONS AND LIMITS OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION," Boston University Law Review, December, 1998, 78 B.U.L. Rev. 1275 , EE2001-JGM, P.

In the previous section, I argued that in addition to justifying freedom of expression, the concept of individual self-determination gives rise to a variety of other rights, including reputation, privacy, and freedom from infliction of emotional distress. These rights are no less essential to self-realization than is free speech itself 

BALANCE BETWEEN PRIVACY AND FREE SPEECH MUST BE DRAWN ACCORDING TO THE SENSITIVITY OF THE INFORMATION AND THE BARGAINING POWER OF THE CONSUMER

ROBYN E. BLUMNER St. Petersburg Times, November 07, 1999, SECTION: PERSPECTIVE; Pg. 6D TITLE: Phone users' calling records should stay private // acs-EE2001

Barry Steinhardt, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union, says that the balance between privacy and free speech depends on a variety of issues, including the sensitivity of the information and what bargaining power the consumer has in the situation.

He cites the example of a food store customer using a price club card for discounts that also allows the store to collect information on "whether you buy the name brand of Wheaties or the store-brand equivalent." Here, the consumer's privacy interest isn't particularly strong, Steinhardt says. Wheaties information is not traditionally deemed as intimate or personal; and if the consumer doesn't like store price club policies, he can choose not to join or shop at another store.

PRIVACY IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT THAT CAN'T BE WEIGHED VERSES FREE SPEECH

Steven J. Heyman, Associate Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law, "RIGHTING THE BALANCE: AN INQUIRY INTO THE FOUNDATIONS AND LIMITS OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION," Boston University Law Review, December, 1998, 78 B.U.L. Rev. 1275 , EE2001-JGM, P.1332-3

The philosophical basis of privacy, and its relationship to free personality, may be described as follows. n296 In the sphere of external right, the individual was oriented toward the outside world. In the realm of personality, on the other hand, the self turns inward, withdrawing from externality into itself. In so doing, it separates itself from other selves and creates a boundary between itself and them - a division that is much deeper than that between physical bodies. In this respect, privacy is rooted in negative freedom, both internally and in relation to other persons. Privacy is not merely negative, however. By withdrawing into itself, the self frees itself from externality, and thereby attains the capacity for self-determination. This includes the freedom to direct one's own thoughts and actions, within the boundary that separates the self from others. Thus privacy creates an inviolable realm of subjectivity within which individuals can develop a rich inner life. This is the positive dimension of privacy, and its connection with positive freedom. For these reasons, privacy is a fundamental right. Indeed, a minimum of privacy may be essential to the very existence of human personality. n297 A person differs from a thing in not being merely external, but in having an inward dimension as well. It is this distinction between internal and external that makes it possible for human beings to be autonomous, that is, to be determined by their own inner selves. Without inwardness, people would be mere objects vulnerable to determination by external forces, or to manipulation or domination by other persons. n298 Privacy safeguards the inwardness necessary for autonomous personality.