Paper
1890
The Right to Privacy
Warren & Brandeis
Argues American common law already contains, implicit in existing property and tort cases, a distinct right 'to be let alone' that should be recognised as its own actionable privacy tort.
Read itWhere it is now wrong
The intrusions that prompted it are instantaneous photography and the gossip press, and it addresses nothing like modern data collection. What survived is the move it makes, deriving a right to be let alone from existing common law rather than waiting for a statute, which is why it is still cited.
Before you start
FreeIntermediatelink checked 17 Sept 2026