Freedom or Illusion: The Dilemma of Digital Surveillance

1781 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dangers of government surveillance

Ronald Regan once stated, “Man is not free unless government is limited.” We live in a country where the expression, “freedom,” is relentlessly used. The first amendment of the United States constitution protects our freedom of expression from government interference, which is exactly what we are currently up against. Unfortunately, like many other things in this country, freedom is becoming a questionable illusion. With the development of digital technologies, the government’s scope has become much wider, intruding every possible aspect of our lives. Many Americans are fully aware that they are being recorded in public places for the intention to protect against, and eliminate crime. Take for example, cameras to record our vehicle movements to ensure that we are driving at a reasonable speed, in compliance with the New York State Law. That appears completely harmless and beneficial to our own well-being. Now, imagine sitting at your computer unknowing to the fact that the FBI has turned on and is observing you through your webcam. The National Security Agency has a specialized tool, better known as GUMFISH that indeed, has access to taking photos …show more content…

In an interview done in Moscow in 2013, Snowden mentions, “Smurf Suite,” a collection of tools used to acquire information through one’s smartphone. “Dreamy Smurf,” is the power management program that provides the Government Communications Headquarters the ability to power your phone on or off at their will, making it seem as if your phone is performing an automatic reboot. “Nosey Smurf,” is a feature that grants the government access to your smartphone’s microphone, allowing them to listen in to direct and indirect conversations happening around you. “Tracker Smurf,” is a high precision locating tool, which gives the government an exact picture as to where you are, at any given

Show More
Related

  • Essay on Internet Privacy - Carnivore, and the Power Of FBI Surveillance

    1739 Words  | 4 Pages

    Communication surveillance has been a controversial issue in the US since the 1920's, when the Supreme Court deemed unwarranted wiretaps legitimate in the case of Olmstead v United States. Since telephone wires ran over public grounds, and the property of Olmstead was not physically violated, the wiretap was upheld as lawful. However, the Supreme Court overturned this ruling in 1967 in the landmark case of Katz v United States. On the basis of the fourth amendment, the court established that individuals have the right to privacy of communication, and that wiretapping is unconstitutional unless it is authorized by a search warrant. [Bowyer, 142-143] Since then, the right to communication privacy has become accepted as an integral facet of the American deontological code of ethics. The FBI has made an at least perfunctory effort to respect the public's demand for Internet privacy with its new Internet surveillance system, Carnivore. However, the current implementation of Carnivore unnecessarily jeopardizes the privacy of innocent individuals.

    Read More

  • The NSA, Privacy and the War or Terrorism

    1550 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edward Snowden is America’s most recent controversial figure. People can’t decide if he is their hero or traitor. Nevertheless, his leaks on the U.S. government surveillance program, PRISM, demand an explanation. Many American citizens have been enraged by the thought of the government tracing their telecommunication systems. According to factbrowser.com 54% of internet users would rather have more online privacy, even at the risk of security (Facts Tagged with Privacy). They say it is an infringement on their privacy rights of the constitution. However, some of them don’t mind; they believe it will help thwart the acts of terrorists. Both sides make a good point, but the inevitable future is one where the government is adapting as technology is changing. In order for us to continue living in the new digital decade, we must accept the government’s ability to surveil us.

    Read More

  • Privacy Is Not Privlege

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    How much privacy do we as the American people truly have? American Privacy is not directly guaranteed in any manner under the United States Constitution; however, by the Fourth Amendment, Americans are protected from illegal search and seizure. So then isn’t it ironic that in today’s modern world, nothing we do that it is in any way connected to the internet is guaranteed to remain discreet? A Google search, an email, a text message, or even a phone call are all at risk of being intercepted, traced, geo located, documented, and stored freely by the government under the guise of “protecting” the American people. Quite simply, the Government in order to protect us and our rights, is willing to make a hypocrite of itself and act as though our right is simply a privilege, and without any form of consent from the people, keep virtual tabs on each and every one of us. In the words of Former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis “The right to privacy is a person's right to be left alone by the government... the right most valued by civilized men." Privacy isn’t just Privilege, it is nonnegotiable right, and deserves to be treated as such.

    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

  • Dystopian Societies: An Analysis of Politics and Control

    1444 Words  | 3 Pages

    The nature of politics to manipulate and delude the masses allows the political motivations to be ambiguous, however, with control as the ultimate goal it renders people and politics to be antithetical to each other. Political motivations are based on the inherent qualities of the politicians which can be adverse for the populace but a personal gain for themselves. In Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World and Andrew Niccol’s 1997 film Gattaca the notions of science and technological advancements, discrimination, and the lack of freedom are explored to demonstrate the ramifications of politics on people and to establish a dichotomy between a utopian and dystopian society. These are explored through the idea of genetic engineering as the underlining

    Read More

  • Land of the Oppressed, Home of the Cowards

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”-Benjamin Franklin. We live in an age where governments invade the private lives of its citizens in the name of safety. Ironically, anyone who displaying a hint of paranoia when it comes to government surveillance or secrecy is automatically labeled a conspiracy theorist or a kook. It seems that in the U.S., it has become frowned upon to believe that our government would ever infringe on our rights, unintentionally or deliberately. After all, they can’t, it says so in the constitution! But, alas, it turns out “Big Brother” has been very busy the past decade. It seems as though every year new government scandals arise, from cover ups to spying on U.S. citizens. Law enforcement and government agencies are slowly finding “loopholes” through problematic areas of the constitution, with little regard for citizens’ rights. It is our duty as citizens, to not tolerate violations of the law that our nation was founded upon. By examining history and other countries’ policies regarding privacy and freedoms, it becomes clear that if these breaches of our rights are allowed to go on, we will be living in a country of fear and oppression.

    Read More

  • Freedom in the United States

    2480 Words  | 5 Pages

    Freedom in the United States Essay submitted by Unknown No other democratic society in the world permits personal freedoms to the degree of the United States of America. Within the last sixty years, American courts, especially the Supreme Court, have developed a set of legal doctrines that thoroughly protect all forms of the freedom of expression. When it comes to evaluating the degree to which we take advantage of the opportunity to express our opinions, some members of society may be guilty of violating the bounds of the First Amendment by publicly offending others through obscenity or racism. Americans have developed a distinct disposition toward the freedom of expression throughout history. The First Amendment clearly voices a great American respect for the freedom of religion.

    Read More

  • Surveillance and the right of privacy

    1873 Words  | 4 Pages

    [6]Orloff, Thomas J. Point Of View: A Publication Of The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. Vol. 29 Number 4, 2001

    Read More

  • Long Beach Police Privacy

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves and thereby express themselves selectively. In contrary, the privacy of American citizens are being violated in many ways. The novel The 1984, the article Long Beach Police to Use 400 Cameras Citywide to Fight Crime, and the article That's No Phone. That's My Tracker all conclude that our privacy is being violated in more than one way. Our privacy is being revealed in ways such as the “telescreen”, which can compare to our cellular devices as well as cameras and many people can't feel safe with their life and surroundings .

    Read More

  • In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance

    1896 Words  | 4 Pages

    James Stacey Taylor's article, "In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance" begins reviewing the concept of "Big Brother" as it was originally presented in George Orwell's 1984. The Big Brother started off as a fictional character in 1984-- a dictator of Oceania within a totalitarian state. Set within a society in which everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by telescreens, the people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase “Big Brother is watching you” (Wikipedia) . Taylor goes on to explain some examples of recent surveillance technology and how it is applied in lives today. An interesting note and comparison between today’s technology and that of the telescreens in 1984, is that people could be sure that they could not be watched by Big Brother’s telescreens by going out of the cities into the country, where they only had to take care that their conversations were not monitored by hidden microphones (Taylor 227). He contrasts the two, highlighting the fact that “Such an escape is not impossible, for spy satellites can be used to monitor people wherever they go” (277). From there, Taylor perpetuates the framework for his position on the Big Brother notion. Taylor argues that, "rather than opposing such an expansion of surveillance technology, its use should be encouraged -- and not only in the public realm" (227). Taylor’s argument presented in a more formal construction is as follows:

    Read More

  • Internet Privacy: Edward Snowden

    1686 Words  | 4 Pages

    The government gives each American citizen a set of unalienable rights that protect them from the government’s power. These rights cannot be broken, yet the government violates the Fourth Amendment daily to find ways to spy on the American public under the guise of protecting against terrorism. In 2007 President Obama said the American administration “acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our securities – it is not.” Americans need to understand that their privacy is worth the fight. The people need to tell their neighbors, their congressmen, and their senators that they will not allow their internet privacy to be violated by needless spying. American citizens deserve the rights given to them and need to fight for the right to keep them by changing privacy laws to include Internet 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

  • Why Do Government Surveillance

    488 Words  | 1 Pages

    In recent years the threat of global terrorism has risen and the United States government has depended on surveillance to combat it. Some believe that this is a small issue compared to what may happen if no precautions were taken, but this student believes that this is a bigger issue than just terrorism is concerned; among other things, it also involves respecting constitutional freedoms.

    Read More

  • Civil Rights: Government Surveillance

    2208 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Should The Government Be Able To Monitor The Internet

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    " Over the years since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, the United States Government has increased the amount of security and surveillance over the citizens of the United States. This increasing act of surveillance is actually an infringement on the privacy of the American people. The government does not and should not have the power to monitor, limit, or prohibit what the citizen’s do while browsing the Internet. It is strictly the business of the user as to what they view while browsing the Internet, not that of the government.

    Read More

More about Freedom or Illusion: The Dilemma of Digital Surveillance

Open Document