Argumentative Essay: Should The Government Monitor The Internet?

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"WE THE STUDENTS ESSAY CONTEST Have you ever had anything on the internet you wanted to keep private? You know, something that you didn’t want anyone else to see? Well, as it turns out, your “private” things might not be as private as they might seem. Apparently, the government (specifically the National Security Agency) has the power to monitor internet content. However, they do have limits to this power; One being that the government needs a good reason to do so. They can’t just do it whenever they want either, they need federal permission. So, should the government be allowed to do this? Yes. Here’s why: One of the most common ways the government can monitor the internet is through Google search data. However, they need to ask Google for said data first. According to www.washingtonpost.com, “A government can also subpoena data from Google, which doesn’t require a judge’s approval—but they can’t subpoena the actual content of their searches or emails” …show more content…

Scary, right? The good news is, they not only have to find a judge and have a good reason to wiretap, but they also need to have proof that they have tried different means of trying to observe you with dissatisfactory results. They could also analyze your physical computer, which needs very similar requirements to the previous way. Essentially, they can take searches and reconstruct them through data in your computer. This allows them to see browsing history and stored websites. So, is this even legal? Well, according to www.npr.org, “Yes… It is important to remember that no evidence has yet emerged that the NSA is ‘spying’ on Americans without a court order” (Calamur). However, even with all of these internet monitoring tactics, the government isn’t going to be physically monitoring your computer anytime soon. Unless you’re a

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