Civil Rights: Government Surveillance

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Civil Rights: Government Surveillance
The idea of “government surveillance” and “privacy” has been an interesting subject matter that has been recently introduced by Edward Snowden and is seen as a controversial topic in the U.S (Roleff). Citizens of the United States of America have certain rights to privacy that are stated by law. These rights are important as any other and should be respected by government officials. Just like any other law, it is the job of the government to protect these rights granted to the citizens. However, due to terrorists’ attacks such as the massive attack on September 11, 2001, the government is taking extra precautions and measures to ensure the safety of the people (Obama). This includes spying or hacking into …show more content…

The purpose of it was “to punish the willful injury or destruction of war material, or of war premises or utilities used in connection with war material, and for other purposes” (Espionage Act of 1918). This means that this act protected the U.S. from any potential domestic threat that would ruin the chances of being successful in the war at the time, which was World War I. With this act in place, not only who whoever broke it would be punished, but it also served as an incentive for others to not attempt to break it. In return, allowed the information from the government to still be kept as a …show more content…

But it is important to realize that with this new and improved security, the government has faltered to uphold their duties in protecting the privacy rights of U.S. citizens. There are several laws and acts that go against the citizens’ Fourth Amendment rights and some action should be taken to re-ensure that all of the citizens’ rights are protected. The NSA’s method of spying on citizens has proven to not only be contradictory towards a person’s Fourth Amendment right, but also a secret that has only recently surfaced and should be brought to the attention of all citizens. The overall protection of one’s privacy is in a full-fledged debate within the government system; as well as citizens who are deciding if the government’s surveillance methods have [gone] too far (“NSA Files: Decoded”). As the debate carries on, whichever method that proves to fix the problem will become known as time

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