Ervin Lauds Steps To Protect Privacy In Speech at MIT

The right to be left along is among the most basic of man's rights former U.S. Senator Sam Ervin said last night before a crowd of over 500 at Mills Kresge Auditorium.

The former senator from North Carolina quoted various sources including Hebrew prophets ancient Greek philosophers and the framers of the Constitution to support his contention that a person's happiness is partially based on his ability to keep certain thoughts, actions and associations private.

Government intervention into an individual's privacy is unwarranted unless it is needed in the course of proper government business, or unless an individual's private acts infringe upon the rights of another individual, Ervin said.

Abuse of Power

Ervin said that in recent years the government has abused its powers to collect personal information on individuals and that the introduction of computer data banks allows a "thousandfold increase in the ability of the government to store and disseminate information" on individuals.

Ervin said that the Privacy Act of 1974, which limits the government's ability to collect and disseminate information without either the individual's approval or a court warrant as "an important victory for freedom in the endless war with tyranny to insure its own survival."

Ervin said that he favored further action to create a federal commission on privacy, with the power to create and enforce regulations limiting government surveillance.

While the government's ability to pry should be curtailed, no restrictions should be placed on the press, Ervin said.