The right to privacy has developed as a nearly universal human right. The best evidence of that trend is the adoption of comprehensive privacy and data protection standards and statutes, as well as the right's inclusion in the Universal

IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, A BOOK STORE MANAGER COLLECTS PETITION SIGNATURES AGAINST THE USA PATRIOT ACT. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Congress enacted the USA Patriot Act in October 2001. Many civil liberties groups believed that the act could violate a person's privacy and right to free speech as it permitted expanded wiretapping of phone and electronic mail, as well as allowed noncitizens to be held indefinitely without charge. (SOURCE: AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

An example of broad support for privacy...