Brett Kavanaugh Has Some Alarmingly Outdated Views on Privacy

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. Starting in 2012, the Supreme Court's approach to digital privacy has undergone a seismic shift. In a series of recent cases on location tracking and cellular phone searches, the court has recognized that, when it comes to big data, old rules about our expectations of privacy may not apply. Because information can now be gathered, stored, and analyzed cheaply, the Supreme Court has recently found that Fourth Amendment protections must be carefully recalibrated to prevent unchecked police power. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, however, has exhibited a contrasting and outdated understanding of privacy. As important questions come before the court in the future--on police drone surveillance, on the use of facial recognition software, on government access to the vast troves of different kinds of digital data companies hold on us--it's crucial to understand where Kavanaugh stands.