I
Michael,
Privacy is still an inalienable right guaranteed in the Constitution. [/I]
Privacy isn't mentioned in the Constitution.
It is considered by the Supreme Court to be in the Fourth Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
But that runs afoul of a lot of strict constructionists and, of course, the extent what is covered by the Fourth is very much a matter of debate that is not settled by the words of the Fourth Amendment as the debate over government interference of the doctor-patient relationship, mandated breathalyzer tests in implied consent (drunk driving) or DWI blood/urine testing, when can cops enter your property, what can a photographer legally photograph of your home (anything visible from the street), etc., attest.
As with most rights, courts weigh personal rights against societal rights and come down somewhere on that spectrum. That was most evident in two cases before the court a few years ago when the court ruled on two implied consent cases on the same day, striking down a North Dakota law that forced blood tests of suspected drunk drivers, while upholding a similiar Minnesota statute that forced drivers to submit to breathalyzer tests.
Both of thoses cases hinged on the words of the fourth amendent, which mentioned neither blood nor breath, of course.
I could someday see a scenario where we're not allowed to fly over someone's house because of words that actually ARE in the constitution: the right of people to be secure... in their houses. Yikes!
But back to the flight data, I will stipulate, however, to the reality that I've not heard a compelling case for why the public should have access to the data. In that vacuum, I suspect, the over-the-top, unlikely scenarios of why they shouldn't will probably hold sway.
Good chatting with you guys. Thanks for the intellectual stimulation. I'm gonna move along now.
Happy holidays