Governments should collect personal data about residents and citizens only if it is absolutely necessary for carrying out their essential functions. They should maintain such data only so long as it is needed for carrying out such functions, after which time data should be destroyed.

Americans' legitimate expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment extends to information about themselves regardless of whether it is in digital or tangible form, and regardless of whether it is maintained in their homes, on remote servers, or in the custody of others.

Governments should not compel private businesses such as banks and Internet service providers to act as their agents by requiring them to collect or report personal information.

Government databases of personal information should be explicitly authorized by legislation; restricted to the clearly authorized purpose and accessed only for that purpose; and should not be shared with other governments or government agencies.

Government-mandated-and-accessible databases, such as those advocated for an Internet sales tax and required by new "medical privacy" regulations, hold the same dangers as those directly in the hands of government. Government-mandated programs should be designed to minimize private-sector collections of personal information.

Schemes to implement national government ID numbers for citizens or further expand the use of identification such as a Social Security Number into a de facto national ID hold great potential for abuse and should be resisted.

Americans should be free to seek the levels of privacy protection that best suit them without being deemed suspect or presumed guilty of wrongdoing.

Identity fraud is best addressed as the crime that it is. It should be vigorously prosecuted by the appropriate level of government.

government surveillance

medical privacy

financial privacy

online privacy

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