> We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men...
But I understand that "rights" such as copyright are somewhat arbitrarily bestowed.
My point was that a right to one's possessions is more obvious and definable than a right to one's data. My hands are mine. My toothbrush is mine because I made it with my hands or bought it with money I earned with my hands. Etc.
It's much more nebulous to say that I own information about myself. If you see me, is your knowledge of what I look like "mine"? What about if you write down what I look like? What if you take a picture? What if you write down a detailed account of all my movements and sell it? At some point it starts to seem wrong, but it's fuzzy.
You may say these are both arbitrary. I don't think all rights are arbitrary, and to the extent that things are fuzzy, I think rights to physical possessions are less so.
But again, I'm in favor of privacy regulation. It's just less obvious what it should protect and how.
Obviously, we as a society have decided that property rights are more advantageous than not, and we're deciding the same thing about information rights. There's not anything inherent to either one that precludes us from regulating it.