ABSTRACT
A large proportion of surveillance data is given up voluntarily for reasons of convenience or because individuals receive something in return, like a green card or Social Security check. The long battle between J. Edgar Hoover and J. L. Fly exemplifies the constant struggle to balance use of surveillance by law enforcement agencies versus public disclosure and regulations to govern eavesdropping. Fly was a vocal proponent of constitutional rights and critical of what he called the “FBI’s illegal practice of wiretapping.” Many people supported the spirit of Communications Decency Act, but advocates of personal freedom challenged that it could be used to censor constitutionally protected rights such as freedom of speech. In 2000, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a state voyeurism law as unconstitutional when a man appealed a charge of video voyeurism after taking nude photos of his ex-girlfriend through a window.
