--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Bill of Rights was written before…" description: "\"“The Bill of Rights was written before data-mining,\" he said. He was awesomely serene, convinced of his rightness. \"The right to freedom of association..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbd/cory-doctorow-1928_bill-of-rights_the-bill-of-rights-was-written-before-da_2322701.png" --- # The Bill of Rights was written before data-mining," he… ![“The Bill of Rights was written before data-mining," he said. He was awesomely serene, convinced of his rightness. "The right to freedom of association is fine, but why shouldn't the cops be allowed to mine your social network to figure out if you're hanging out with gangbangers and terrorists?” quote by Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbd/cory-doctorow-1928_bill-of-rights_the-bill-of-rights-was-written-before-da_2322701.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbd/cory-doctorow-1928_bill-of-rights_the-bill-of-rights-was-written-before-da_2322701.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbd/cory-doctorow-1928_bill-of-rights_the-bill-of-rights-was-written-before-da_2322701.png) > ““The Bill of Rights was written before data-mining," he said. He was awesomely serene, convinced of his rightness. "The right to freedom of association is fine, but why shouldn't the cops be allowed to mine your social network to figure out if you're hanging out with gangbangers and terrorists?”” [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Bill of Rights predates modern data mining, raising tension between privacy and surveillance. **In simple terms:** Old rights clash with new tech. Key Takeaway Protect privacy while updating laws. Themes privacy surveillance law Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - social media monitoring - law enforcement - corporate data use Key Concepts digital rights civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - Should privacy be sacrificed for safety? - How can laws keep pace with tech? A Different Perspective Balancing security and freedom is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bill of rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bill-of-rights/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Right Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-freedom-384375/) [Rightness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rightness/) [Rightness Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rightness-right-5558071/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rights Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-written-1471427/) [Social network](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-network/) ## Related quotes > [The First Amendment freedom of religion is as important today as when the Bill of Rights was first written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/the-first-amendment-freedom-of-religion-is-as-important-today-as-when/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [The Bill of Rights was not written to protect governments from trouble. It was written precisely to give the people the constitutional means to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/the-bill-of-rights-was-not-written-to-protect-governments-from/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights were all written by affluent white males, but to discuss them in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-freedman/the-declaration-of-independence-the-constitution-and-the-bill-of/) [Russell Freedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-freedman/) > [The woman's bill of rights is, unhappily, long overdue. It should have run along with the rights of man in the eighteenth century. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ritter-beard/the-woman-s-bill-of-rights-is-unhappily-long-overdue-it-should-have/) [Mary Ritter Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ritter-beard/) > [“When I left, Mr. Chairman, I had the constitutional right to freedom of speech. Has that right been stripped from the American people while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-eade/when-i-left-mr-chairman-i-had-the-constitutional-right-to-freedom-of/) [Kenneth Eade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-eade/) > [ This is the gay agenda: equality. Not special rights, but the rights that are already written by \[our Founding Fathers\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lz-granderson/this-is-the-gay-agenda-equality-not-special-rights-but-the-rights/) [LZ Granderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lz-granderson/) > [“Put some other things to rights too, she had written, like maybe a hitch in her magic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-hunter/put-some-other-things-to-rights-too-she-had-written-like-maybe-a/) [Faith Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-hunter/) > [“If you love freedom, if you think the human condition is dignified by privacy, by the right to be left alone, by the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/if-you-love-freedom-if-you-think-the-human-condition-is-dignified-by/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [The right to freedom of association is fine, but why shouldn't the cops be allowed to mine your social network to figure out if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-right-to-freedom-of-association-is-fine-but-why-shouldn-t-the/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Individuals have a right to freedom of speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-baldwin/individuals-have-a-right-to-freedom-of-speech/) [Doug Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-baldwin/) > [Every principle that wants to command strong allegiance must make a moral case. Men want to feel that what they are doing is useful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wallich/every-principle-that-wants-to-command-strong-allegiance-must-make-a/) [Henry Wallich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wallich/) > [the fundamental right of freedom of thought and expression is essential. 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If we expect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-visser/if-we-enjoy-the-right-to-freedom-it-is-because-we-accept-our/) [Wayne Visser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-visser/) ## More by Cory Doctorow > [“For me -- for pretty much every writer -- the big problem isn't piracy, it's obscurity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/for-me-for-pretty-much-every-writer-the-big-problem-isn-t-piracy-it-s/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“Kurt smiled a shy smile. "You're just trying to cheer me up," he said. "Course I am," Andy said. 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Even so, I figured out how to make an Internet that they can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/i-m-17-years-old-i-m-not-a-straight-a-student-or-anything-even-so-i/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“Anything invented before you were eighteen was there all along. Anything invented before you’re thirty is exciting and will change the world forever. Anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/anything-invented-before-you-were-eighteen-was-there-all-along/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Novels for me are how I find out what's going on in my own head. And so that's a really useful and indeed critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/novels-for-me-are-how-i-find-out-what-s-going-on-in-my-own-head-and/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“It’s our version of Christian guilt—it’s impious to feel good about your piety. You have to want to be good, but not feel good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/it-s-our-version-of-christian-guilt-it-s-impious-to-feel-good-about/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [The important thing about security systems isn’t how they work, it’s how they fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-important-thing-about-security-systems-isn-t-how-they-work-it-s/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [This is why I loved technology: if you used it right, it could give you power and privacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/this-is-why-i-loved-technology-if-you-used-it-right-it-could-give-you/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Funny, for all surveillance, Osama bin Laden is still free—and we're not. 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Responsible employees: Are responsive to feedback Keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-andersen/manager-s-bill-of-rights-those-basic-things-that-you-have-a-right-to/) [Erika Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-andersen/) > [“To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." -George Mason - Father of the Bill of Rights”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-goodwin/to-disarm-the-people-is-the-best-and-most-effectual-way-to-enslave/) [Mark Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-goodwin/) > [A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-bill-of-rights-is-what-the-people-are-entitled-to-against-every/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The average citizen expresses pride in the American Bill of Rights and then seeks to protect his real estate by restrictive covenants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-allen-overstreet/the-average-citizen-expresses-pride-in-the-american-bill-of-rights/) [Harry Allen Overstreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-allen-overstreet/) > [“Among those liberties which we in this UNION claim for the child, due to him as a person, is freedom of thought, the function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parents-national-education-union/among-those-liberties-which-we-in-this-union-claim-for-the-child-due/) [Parents' National Education Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parents-national-education-union/) > [To be patriotic is to be able to question government policy in times of crisis. 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As I think of it, democracy isn't like a Sunday suit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/everybody-now-seems-to-be-talking-about-democracy-i-don-t-understand/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [We have a list of human rights - right to food, right to shelter, right to health, right to education, many such items which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/we-have-a-list-of-human-rights-right-to-food-right-to-shelter-right/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-this-nation-is-to-be-wise-as-well-as-strong-if-we-are-to-achieve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the first movement, our infancy as a species, we felt no separation from the natural world around us. 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