Making Messages Private: The Formation of Postal Privacy and Its Relevance for Digital Surveillance

This article examines the establishment of privacy in mediated communications in the United States. The Post Office Act of 1792, which transformed the informational environment by formalizing a nationwide communications network, banned letter opening, a norm that became the cornerstone of American privacy law. The article analyzes the circumstances that led to the articulation of this norm, contending that it rested on two pillars: a civic rationale that rejected government interference in personal communications, and a commercial rationale that prioritized user trust and market expansion. A comparison between the eighteenth-century discourse and current debates over digital surveillance is offered.