The Pros And Cons Of The NSA Controversial Issues Spark Debate

1598 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How technology affects our privacy

NSA Controversial Issues Spark Debate
Adreonna Radcliffe
Marion Technical College

The feeling that someone is always watching, develops the inevitable, uncomfortable feeling that is displeasing to the mind. For years, the National Security Agency (NSA) has been monitoring people for what they call, “the greater good of the people” (Cole, February 2014). A program designed to protect the nation while it protects the walls within as it singles people out, sometimes by accident. Whether you are a normal citizen or a possible terrorist, the NSA can monitor you in a variation of ways. The privacy of technology has sparked debates across the world as to if the NSA is violating personal rights to privacy by collecting personal data such as, phone calls and text messages without reason or authorization (Wicker, 2011). Technology plays a key role in society’s day to day life. In life, humans expect privacy, even with their technology. In recent news, Edward Snowden leaked huge pieces from the NSA to the public, igniting these new controversies. Now, reforms are being pressed against the government’s throat as citizens fight for their rights. However, American citizens are slammed with the counterargument of the innocent forte the NSA tries to pass off in claims of good doing, such as how the NSA prevents terrorism. In fear of privacy violations, limitations should be put on the NSA to better protect the privacy of our honest citizens.
Recently in global news, the name Edward Snowden has became quite popular as he snatched millions of people’s attention along with breaking news headlines. Snowden released numerous documents via internet that were private to the NSA; these leaks revealed the dirty work the NSA and government have ...

... middle of paper ...

...A was watching their every moment at this very second? Would insecurities develop? Would their sanity be at stake? This is why limits and regulations should be bolted onto the NSA to prevent further intrusive, unnecessary surveillance on innocent people; we must protect our freedoms. Remember, they are always watching.

References http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ad46d509-9dcb-4b8c-ae74-e9fdf940a726%40sessionmgr112&vid=8&hid=125 CELL http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=007fe58e-7efc-4f0d-88b5-0483c1dbd43b%40sessionmgr4002&vid=11&hid=4209&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=92942515 SNOWDEN http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6c8fc339-968c-429a-97d1-3de5db34831e%40sessionmgr4002&vid=13&hid=4209 REFORM http://www.newamerica.net/publications/policy/do_nsas_bulk_surveillance_programs_stop_terrorists TERRORISM

Show More
Related

  • The Pros And Cons Of The National Security Agency

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    The National Security Agency or NSA for short is a United States federal government intelligence organization that is used for global monitoring and collecting data. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush implemented the NSA’s domestic spying program to conduct a range of surveillance activities inside the United States. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this program as it allows the NSA to tap into the public’s phone calls, cameras, internet searches, text messages, and many other mediums to seek out individuals that may be potential threats to the security of the general public. Many individuals say that the tactics used by the NSA are unconstitutional as they invade people’s privacy. This is primarily

    Read More

  • US Government Monitoring Its Citizens

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whether the U.S. government should strongly keep monitoring U.S. citizens or not still is a long and fierce dispute. Recently, the debate became more brutal when technology, an indispensable tool for modern live, has been used by the law enforcement and national security officials to spy into American people’s domestic.

    Read More

  • Edward Snowden- Hero or Traitor?

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    Now, the debate rages on: Is Edward Snowden an American hero or an American villain. The United States government wants to bring treason and espionage against him for leaking some of the most confidential government secrets, but, what most people didn’t know before this whole debacle was that the government was uncontrollably spying on its people using any type of phone, tablet, or computer, Now the government’s response to the outrage of the people would be that they are protecting them from possible terrorists, but some may still ask the question of: Is the government violating my privacy? After gathering all the information, it is up to you to decide: Is Edward Snowden an American hero for exposing to the people of the U.S. the government’s dirty spying secrets or is he an American traitor guilty of espionage and treason?

    Read More

  • Willies

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edward Snowden became a household name this year. His face and story have featured on an innumerable amount of the worlds most well known and reputable media outlets making this issue difficult to ignore. He appeared in the public eye by leaking classified information about major top secret United States, Israeli and British government mass surveillance programs to the media. This matter is surrounded by vast controversy as he has inspired activists to take a step out of anonymity and voice their opinion publicly causing a number of protests and international debates. Others are less grateful, naming him a traitor and cry for this man to pay for his crimes against the US. This essay shall explore the issues of this debate and ultimately conclude with my opinion hopefully having persuaded the reader.

    Read More

  • The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

    2043 Words  | 5 Pages

    Domestic Surveillance Citizens feeling protected in their own nation is a crucial factor for the development and advancement of that nation. The United States’ government has been able to provide this service for a small tax and for the most part it is money well spent. Due to events leading up to the terrifying attacks on September 11, 2001 and following these attacks, the Unites States’ government has begun enacting certain laws and regulations that ensure the safety of its citizens. From the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 to the most recent National Security Agency scandal, the government has attempted and for the most part succeeded in keeping domestic safety under control. Making sure that the balance between obtaining enough intelligence to protect the safety of the nation and the preservation of basic human rights is not extremely skewed, Congress has set forth requisites in FISA which aim to balance the conflicting goals of privacy and security; but the timeline preceding this act has been anything but honorable for the United States government.

    Read More

  • Government Surveillance in the Digital Age

    2364 Words  | 5 Pages

    Imagine walking along a busy street in the middle of a sunny day. Also imagine that someone is following you around, videotaping everything you do. Disturbing thought? Even more disturbing is the fact that the United States government is already doing this, and it's perfectly legal.

    Read More

  • Edward Snowden Research Paper

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edward Snowden, once one of the U.S.A.'s most wanted cyber criminals has performed many tasks deemed treasonous, as well as heroic. Snowden has tremendously helped the citizens of America's knowledge of their government's actions in addition to having a better understanding of their constitutional rights. Edward Snowden has affected U.S, citizen's knowledge by exposing data about the NSA's spying on residents, helping citizens recognize their basic freedoms and rights, and displaying how weak security and privacy is thus encouraging companies to have stronger encryption and user privacy.

    Read More

  • Privacy vs. Security

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most people concerned about the privacy implications of government surveillance aren’t arguing for no[sic] surveillance and absolute privacy. They’d be fine giving up some privacy as long as appropriate controls, limitations, oversight and accountability mechanisms were in place. ”(“5 Myths about Privacy”). The fight for privacy rights is by no means a recent conflict.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Government Surveillance

    2056 Words  | 5 Pages

    Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people, for the purpose of influencing, managing, directing, or protecting them (“Surveillance”). While it may be used to stop a terrorist attack beforehand, government surveillance involves ethical issues, as it is not always used in the right context. It is the antithesis of every nation’s constitution, which promotes freedom of privacy. Furthermore, it directly violates citizens’ rights and freedom of speech, and can be used to retaliate against political enemies of the government using imprisonment or other sanctions. Government surveillance can have adverse effects on anyone’s life, as it can be used to harm an individual’s reputation by exposing their personal information.

    Read More

  • How Is Edward Snowden Ethical

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edward Snowden, just over a month after he began working at the NSA Cryptologic Center in Hawaii, failed to show up for work. He flew to Hong Kong with a massive cache of stolen secrets. While in Hong Kong, he gave a small portion of these documents to three handpicked journalists. Snowden disappeared again, this time for 13 days, before arriving in Russia, which gave him, protection from prosecution, and a global stage to expose further government secrets (Epstein, 2017). Majority of Mr. Snowden’s excuses for releasing critical information was an ethical and moral decision to stop the

    Read More

  • Ethics of Surveillance

    1069 Words  | 3 Pages

    The world erupted in outrage following revelations by Edward Snowden regarding the extent of surveillance perform by the National Security Agency. Privacy becomes one of the hottest topic of 2013 and was chosen by the world’s most popular online dictionary, Dictionary.com, as the Word of the Year. However, the government is not the only one that conduct data gathering and surveillance. Employers often monitor their employees, and businesses collect data on theirs customer. The morality of these practices is a topic that generates heated debate.

    Read More

  • Edward Snowden: Traitor or Whistleblower

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edward Snowden. This is a name that will be in the history books for ages. He will be branded a traitor or a whistleblower depending on where you look. Many Americans feel that Edward Snowden is a traitor who sold the United States’ secrets aiming to harm the nation. Others believe that he was simply a citizen of the United States who exercised his right to expose the government for their unconstitutional actions. It is important to not only know the two sides to the argument of friend or foe, but to also know the facts as well. My goal in this paper is to present the facts without bias and to adequately portray the two sides of the argument.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Edward Snowden

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is reasonable to argue that, governmental institutions or people with authority are subject to withhold a great deal of information from society. Many may argue that secrets are kept to ensure the safety of the nation. Thus, upholding the governmental duty of protecting the nation against possible threats. On the other hand, many believe that secrets may exist which violate our constitutional rights. Over the last year, Edward Snowden, has made headline news for leaking sensitive governmental information to the press. Edward Snowden is a 29-year-old high school drop-out, who was a tech specialist for the National Security Association. Snowden had discovered and later exposed the NSA for monitoring the nations e-mails, phone calls, and internet searches. As the allegations spread like wild fire, Edward Snowden sought asylum in Russia for one year. Snowden had a valid and justifiable reason to expose the NSA to the world because they were in violation of our fourth Amendment rights to unreasonable searches and seizures. The government called him a traitor, while others viewed him as a hero for exposing the government. Edward Snowden is a whistle blower because he felt that it is up to society to decide if governmental practices are just or unjust. Snowden does “express the highest respect for the law”, and he wanted to protect the right of privacy for American citizens.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Surveillance Cameras

    1926 Words  | 4 Pages

    Terror is becoming a major threat to the security in the United States following the September 11 attack. The government has increased its security, and one way to do this is to increase surveillance. Now, part of the citizens believes that the government has gone too far in the use of these cameras. The surveillance cameras are now being used for many other purposes, some of which are not related to security in any way. Top government officials can now monitor actions of people they suspect to be a threat to the country, but others think that this action is spying on the innocent citizens who are busy developing the country in their own private ways. There is a limit to which this security measures become a public pain. As much as people may want to feel secure at all times in every place they go, they also value their privacy. That is one of the essentials that define a human being. Even wild animals in the forest enjoy this right to be private. No one wants to be monitored at all times because it creates a psychological feeling that he or she is in a prison. One feels that their world has been narrowed to the corners of their own house. In fact, some members of the society claim that this privacy inside one’s house is lost as soon as the curtains on the window are removed due to the presence of

    Read More

  • Government Surveillance Pros And Cons

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    Privacy is not just a fundamental right, it is also important to maintain a truly democratic society where all citizens are able to exist with relative comfort. Therefore, “[Monitoring citizens without their knowledge] is a major threat to democracies all around the world.” (William Binney.) This is a logical opinion because without freedom of expression and privacy, every dictatorship in history has implemented some form of surveillance upon its citizens as a method of control.

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of The NSA Controversial Issues Spark Debate

Open Document