Long-wavelength imaging and the 4th Amendment

Abstract

Great levels of computational power and new kinds of sensors are being embedded into today's mobile devices. Through computation and new algorithms, the power of these sensors is being harnessed to form full images of scenes around corners and behind walls. This technology has great benefits and can revolutionize human-computer interaction and disaster response, however, it poses interesting questions about privacy and surveillance when anyone with a mobile device, including the police, have the ability to see what was previously invisible. An analysis of federal laws and Supreme Court precedents show that the expectation of privacy test is not appropriate when an advanced imaging technology is in widespread use. The lesson drawn by this thesis is that by establishing legislation that defends privacy as a right, and defines it in a human-centric fashion, regulations can be instated that protect privacy while allowing new technologies to be developed. This thesis addresses computational imaging in the context of privacy in two steps. First, architectures are presented for capturing images around corners using sound, and through walls using Radio-Frequencies (RF). Then, federal laws and relevant court cases are analyzed to show that the legal precedent is unclear in the context of widely-distributed imaging technologies which can see into a space without entering it. Through this analysis, policy recommendations are given for a new regulatory framework which can protect privacy without sacrificing innovation.