David Blunkett Quotes

If we give up all our privacy rights, have we become any safer?

Privacy isn't negotiable. It's the right of every American.

Our nation's founding fathers carefully crafted a Bill of Rights - an articulation of personal liberties woven into the entire fabric of our free society. When any of those freedoms are threatened anywhere, they must be defended and protected everywhere.

I think most people accept that it is necessary to have some surveillance in a democratic society. I think most people accept that it's important to have limits and clear safeguards on that.

Privacy is not for sale, and human rights should not be compromised out of fear or greed.

I've made sure that I've stood for privacy and the rights of the people time and time again.

I think that, as Americans, we should never forget that when we tamper with freedom of speech, it is a very sensitive issue that affects all of our constitutional rights and privileges.

We need to codify our values and build consensus around what we want from a free society and a free Internet. We need to put into law protections for our privacy and our right to speak and assemble.

The freedom of thought and expression is one of the most sacred rights in this country.

Personal privacy is a closely held American value.

Is privacy about government security agents decrypting your e-mail and then kicking down the front door with their jackboots? Or is it about telemarketers interrupting your supper with cold calls? It depends. Mainly, of course, it depends on whether you live in a totalitarian or a free society.

Privacy is not something that I'm merely entitled to, it's an absolute prerequisite.

Even in democratic society, we don't have good answers how to balance the need for security on one hand and the protection of free speech on the other in our digital networks.

I have nothing to hide!

Free speech, free press, free religion, the right of free assembly, yes, the right of petition—well, they are still radical ideas.

The right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest.

There should be constitutional liberty of speech and freedom of thought, which is the elementary right of every citizen under any civilized form of Government

A democratic country has zero tolerance for all illegal monitoring operations.

Although the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment may benefit society generally, or communities in particular, we don't condition those freedoms on whether how we use them benefits anyone.

Britain's anti-terror laws are an affront to democracy.

We're losing our freedom of speech. We are losing freedom of religion. We are losing freedom of the press.

Our privacy, our rights as citizens - these are ideals that we Americans hold very dear.

Saying that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about freedom of speech because you have nothing to say.

Nobody needs to justify why they "need" a right: the burden of justification falls on the one seeking to infringe upon the right. But even if they did, you can't give away the rights of others because they're not useful to you. More simply, the majority cannot vote away the natural rights of the minority. Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say.

Freedom of speech is central to most every other right that we hold dear in the United States and serves to strengthen the democracy of our great country. It is unfortunate, then, when actions occur that might be interpreted as contrary to this honored tenet.