During this pandemic, when we invite the world into our homes with zoom and WebEx, are we changing what constitutes our “reasonable expectation of privacy” for purposes of Fourth Amendment guarantees against unreasonable searches?

We invite all kinds of people in our living rooms now, many of whom we barely know or don’t know at all—they peer at the photos and artwork on our walls, listen to our kids and dogs, examine the mess or admire the cleanliness, and see us in whatever pandemic state of haircut we happen to be exhibiting. But still, they are with us by invitation, for only the time we allow them to be. And with the click of a button, we “leave” the zoom or WebEx meeting and part ways. In an instant, our home is private again. (It may not yet be quiet, the dogs may continue to bark and the children to raise the decibel level, but it is our little private world again).

Zoom and WebEx