Many Americans take for granted that we have a legal protection of our personal privacy. They might be surprised to learn that the US Constitution offers no such specific assurances. Yes, the framers did include a Bill of Rights with related provisions in this area. Among them are... ** privacy of beliefs (1st Amendment) ** privacy of a home against demands that it be used to house soldiers (3rd Amendment) ** privacy of a person and possessions against unreasonable searches (4th Amendment) ** privacy of personally held information... aka the privilege against self-incrimination (5th Amendment) With this in mind we may mistakenly construe that our personal information is well protected by the force of law. Nothing could be further from the truth. While no one can compel us to reveal our secrets (except by granting immunity or the threat of contempt), this is exactly what we do "voluntarily" on a routine basis. You will be amazed to see how pervasive this dissemination of information is.