New technology brings pros and cons to the debate on surveillance. Now, law enforcement can use camera circuits, satelites, computers and all kinds of equipment that without a doubt increase the control that security institutions can have over potential risks for the citizens in every day life, making us more safe.
Technological development won't and shouldn't be stopped, what we need in order to take advantage of the benefits without compromising privacy, is a development of new laws that reflect the intricacies of technological advancement.
Ideologists on the matter have brought up the concept of third-party doctrine, which suggests a person shouldn't expect a protection of their privacy when it comes to information they have disclosed voluntarily to a third party. However, studies have shown that people are unwilling to abandon that expectation of privacy.
This attitude towards privacy may not change until law adapts itself to the new platforms that hold our information. Some have suggested the idea of shifting Fourth Amendment law towards a property-rights-based postion, where it's made more clear who owns digitally-stored information and thus has the right to keep it private and protected against disclosure.
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