| The task of this dissertation has been to construct a theoretical model for the development of laws relating to telecommunication privacy vis-a-vis law enforcement surveillance over the past hundred years. Both statutory and case laws relating to telecommunication privacy were examined, as well as the historical context of such legislation and rulings.;The model presented draws upon the work of legal theorists such as Thomas Cooley, Roscoe Pound, H.L.A. Hart, R.M. Dworkin, William Banks, M.E. Bowman, and Marc Rotenberg; surveillance theorists such as Michel Foucault, Anthony Giddens, and David Lyons; and privacy theorists such as Alan Westin, Irwin Altman, and Sandra Petronio. It focuses on three competing fears: fear of external threat, fear of social chaos, and fear of the tyrant. Shifts in emphasis among these three fears throw the nation into periods of boundary turbulence. This boundary turbulence requires re-negotiation of privacy boundaries. This re-negotiation has happened repeatedly during U.S. history.;The model presented was then tested in a case study that examined the inception, debate, and passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. |
