Privacy may be under threat, but its protection alone isn’t enough to preserve civil liberties
- Written by Firmin DeBrabander, Professor of Philosophy, Maryland Institute College of Art
Demonstrators shine their cellphones during a protest in St. Louis in 2020.Michael B. Thomas/Getty ImagesThe Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.
The big idea
While the battle over privacy is everywhere in American life, it’s actually a relatively new concept that didn’t become grounded in law until over a...

