Don't Take Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security.

The article focuses on the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and cases dealing with civil liberty. The ACM is an international scientific and educational organization, sewing both professional and public interests. It has been held that there is no such thing as overzealous enforcement of liberties. This is not acceptable to those who subscribe to ACM Code of Ethics, section 1.7 concerning respect for the privacy of others as a moral imperative. The exception is solely in cases where it is evidence for the violation of law, organizational regulations, or this Code. In these cases, the nature or contents of that information must be disclosed only to proper authorities. In the Zacarias Moussaoui case, the FBI was denied permission to access private data not by the custodians of the data but by the custodians of the law itself, the judiciary; because they lacked probable cause. The Fourth Amendment, which holds that 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, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.